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HISTORY 



OF 



HAVERHILL, N. H 



REV. J. Q. BITTINGER. 



IIAVKinill.l., N. II. 
1888. 



J^6f 



/ 
'0/ 



PRINTED AT 

COHOS STEAM PRESS, 

HAVERHILL, N. Jl. 






rilEFACE. 

This History luul its oriirin in a conversiition with the hite 
N. B. Felton, Esij., who was imich interested in ha\ina- the 
liistory of the Town written, and suLjge.sted that I undertake 
tlie work. At first declined, hut at h-ist a nndtitude of facts 
and niiscelhineous material havinu' incidentally aeeuniulated, 
I concluded about five years a^t) to undei'take the work in 
earnest. The labor and expense have bdtli been large, yet I 
do not regret having })reser\ed in i>ernianent form the his- 
tory of the Town which in interest in many respects is the 
most historic of any town north and west of Concord. 

I have availed myself of all sources of knowledge which 
were within i-each. The Town and Proprietors' Keeords, 
Town Papers and State Pa[)ers, Keeords of Vermont Govcr- 
noi' and Council, State Histories, private records, files of 
pa})ers, and whatever could throw light upon the history of 
the Town ; and I trust the record as now produced will be 
found trustworthy, though minor errors of date and in names 
have una\()idably esca[)ed notice in some cases. I have not 
encumbered the pages with citation of authorities. 

Several of the cha[)ters are entirely biographical, which 
have been made (piite full on the theory that a few leading 
and enterprising minds of every comnuinity make its history 
very largely. Much genealogy appears in these pages, but 
it is merely incidental to the general history, and in no case 
has completeness been aimed at in this respect. The His- 
tory is not a genealogical work. 

I have been greatly aided in many matters bv others. To 
the late Hon. Sauuiel Swasey of I5el\ iderc. 111., and Hon. 
^Sathaniel A\'ilson of ()i-ono, Mc, for a mass of information 
which was kindly conununicated. To the late Hosea H. 
Baker and Miss Eliza Cross for much early traditional mat- 



4 PREFACE. 

ter. To Hon. A. B. Tliompson, Secretary of State, Isaac 
W. Ilaimnond, M. D. librarian of New Hampshire Histori- 
cal Society ; Hon. A. S. Initcliellor of Littleton ; Gen. A. 
Harleigh Hill, author of Early Settlers of (Iroton, Vt. ; 
Hon. Hiram Huse, state librarian, Vt. ; J. J. Hazen, ]M. 
D., York, jNIc. ; Henry K. Elkins of Chicago ; Prof. Lewis 
Pollens, librarian of Dartmouth College ; Kev. Henry A. 
Hazen of Boston, and others, for favors. Also to Ex-Gov. 
Charles IL Bell of Exeter for important j)apers on the early 
lawyers of Haverhill ; to Phineas S[)al(ling, AL I)., for a 
like service in regard to some of the doctors, and to Charles 
B. Griswold, clerk of the court, for court matters. 

I also am greatly indebted to Lieut. James A. Page for 
so complete a list- of the names of soldiers wlio served in the 
AVar of the Rebellion, and for the information which is at- 
tached to many names ; to the Town authorities for access to 
Town Records and pa])ers, and especially to Town clerk, PL 
R. Weeks for his uniform w illingness to aid the work ; and 
last but not least to my neighbor, Mr. John l*latt, for carry- 
ing me to various localities to inspect historic points. 

The work is necessarily imperfect in some res})ects, the 
records outside the Town and Proprietors" Records are 
meager, and the time, 120 years, intervening between the 
foundation of the Town and the date of gathering material 
so great, that nnich that would have enhanced the value of 
the work, had passed beyond recovery. The work was un- 
dertaken none too soon, as all the older persons living and 
familiar with the earlier traditions of the Town, when I be- 
gan the work, have answered the roll-call to a new Empire. 

J. Q. B. 

Haverhill, N. H., 1888. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTKR I. 17-111 

INI'KODrCTlOX. 

AiitliorV ;iiin — E.irly luatorial iiiii)orfoc't — OOiciul acts sii])i»I(MiK'iitP(l 
l)_y tradition, coiivcrsatioiis, ami fainil_v rcfonl:* — -Eiicrijy, cour- 
ajjc, and porscvcraiice of tlic founders — <'liaiio;<'s in iili' and 
liahits. 



CIlAPTKIi II. L>U-28 

(lEOCflJArilV OF THE TOWN. 

Xaiiic — I"]xtont and value of I'arni products — liciundaiies — Scenery — 
Area — Population — Villa*i;es — Mountains — I fivers and Streams — 
Ponds — Islands — (ioology, Soil, and Arinerals — Water-power — 
Roads. 



CHAPTER JII. L>!l-;U 

DIsrON KKY AM) KX I'LOR ATIOX OF TFIK COIIOS fOlXTUV. 

Early reports about it from liunters, traiijK-rs, and returned sdliliers 
— Plan to explore and take possession of tlie Country — A doubt 
— Project failed — An event that led to a careful survey — A new 
route — The expedition of 17");^ — raj)t. Power's scoulin<;- jiarty. 
17.")4 — ^Pissions of the Powers and Povewell i)arties. 

CIIAPTKK I\'. ao-41 

Tin: ciiAinr.i; imjmoi). 

inllnx of population — 'I'lie Charter — Xanies of (Jrantees — Four divi- 
sions — House lots — Privileu'ed ''•pitchers" — (iovernor WentwortlTs 
"right" — Drawinj; — Xundterinj^— Xanies of meadows — (irante(>s 
common to Xewl)ury and Haverhill — (Jen. Jacol) P.ailey— < ol. 
Jacob Kent — Gen. Moses Hazen. 



b CONTENTS. 

CHAPTP:R v. 42-56 

early settlement before the charter. 

Two remarkable men — Michael -Johnston and John Pattie tlie first set- 
tlers, 1701 — Wuitered at Ox Bow — Indians then in possession — 
Johnston and Pattie leturn to No. 4 — A tragic end — Capt. Ilazen 
comes to C'ohos in 17()2 with men and material for saw-mill and 
grist-mill — I.eading position — Deatli— Moses Hazen and John 
Ilazen confounded — William llazen — .Toshiia Howard — .Tessie 
Ilarriman — Simeon Stevens — Thomas .Johnson — Col. Timothy 
Bedel and family — Capt. John Page and familj^ — First Marriage — 
First Family — First Birth — First Death — Morse Meadow. 



CHAPTER VJ. .57-108 

EARLY SETTLERS AFTER THE CHARTER. 

CJiarter and energy of tlie men — Their training and education — Papid 
settlen)ent — Jesse Johnson — .Tohn White — James Bailej' — Elisha 
Lock — Jonathan Sanders — .Tames \\'ood\vard — Priah Stone — 
Jonatlian Elkitis — .Tohn Taplin — Ezekiel Ladd — Moses Tattle — 
Hay wards — Timothy I5arron — Tames Abbott — William Eastman 
John Ilurd — Maxi llazeltine— Josepli Ilutchins — Simeon Goodwin 
— Jonatlian Hale — Tliomas Simpson — Ei)hraim Wesson — Charles 
.Tohnston — Asa Porter — William Porter — Andrew S. Crocker — 
Nathaniel Merrill— William Merrill — .Joseph Pearson— Samuel 
Brooks — The Morses — Joseph Bliss — .Toshua Young — Amos 
Eimball— William Cross— John Osgood — The Carrs — The Swans 
— Obadiali Swasej- — Moor Pussell— Tlie Gookins — Asa Boynton 
— .John Montgomery — Poss Coon — Glazier \Vheeler — Parker 
Stevens — William Tarleton. 



CHAPTER Ml. 10i»-141i 

SETTLERS FROM ISOO. 

Division-line between early and late Settlers- Piver and back Settle- 
ments — Briar Hill— Along Oliverian — East Haverliill — Woods- 
ville — Biographical Sketches — Noyses — Websters — Barstows — A 
cliaracter — Wilsons — Towles — Ephraiin Kingsbury — Merrills — 
'I'imotby A. Edsoii — Bells — Xoah Davis — Morses — Chester Far- 
man — Perley Ayer — 'I'lie Jellers — 'I'imothy Wilinot — Michael 
Carleton — Woodwards — Ilosea S. Baker — StClairs — The Pikes — 



f'OXTKNTS. V> 

liiissL'll Kimball — JaiiK's I'. ItiTwcr—Soulliaids — (liailes ('. Kim- 
ball — Jos. B. Niles — Mansons — John McClary — I'ixes — John L. 
Bunce — Stowes — Kedino; Brothers — Jonathan Nicliois — William 
C. Marston — Haywards — Warrens — .Tonatlian B. IJovvell — Elliotts 
Timothy K. Blaisdcll — Cuttings — Clarks — Salmon Fish — Smiths — 
Alonzo W. Putnam — Cunnnings Brothers — Caleb Hunt — .laekson 
Brotliers — 'I'iniothy IJ. Bacon — Daniel Batelielder — John Vose 
Bean — Bailey Brothers — Charles A. Gale — Darius K. Davis — Levi 
B. Ham — Currier Brothers — Augustus Whitney — The Stevenses — 
The Weekses — J. G. Blood — William H. Nelson— Josepli Powers 
— Headers — Charles B. Grisvvold — Andrew J. Edgerly — Caleb 
Wells— Charles II. Day— K. D. Tucker— Woodsville settlers. 



C^IIAPTEK Vlll. 150-8 

TOWN AND IM!()IM;IKT0I{S' RECOUDS FROM 17<« TO ISdd. 

First Town and Proprietors' Meeting— First Town Officers— Commit- 
tee of Survey — Laying out of Lots— Drawing Lots — First Annual 
Town meeting — First full List of Town Officers — Town Expenses 
— Pound Wages for Town Work — Kecord Book — Danger of AVild 
Animals — Small Town Expenses — First Treasurer — Deer Reaves 
— Grant of ilill Privilege— Taxes Abated— Care of Imbecile- 
Census— Burial Places — Lawsuit — Town meeting Places — Waif — 
First Town-order for Aid— Legal Tenders— First Vote for Con- 
gressman and Presidential Electors — First Itepresentative — First 
Vote for Governor and State Senator — Troublesome Persons — 
Special Choice of Selectmen — (Question of Conscience— Traveling 
on the Sabbath — Small Pox— Old Debt — Care of Poor. 



CHAPTEK IX. ir)Il-l(;4 

TOWN RECORDS FROM ISOO TO lt«<T. 

Town in Relation to Condition of Country— AVar of 1S12— Bounties 
for Soldiers — Small-i)ox — Sdiool Trouble — Town Farm— Town 
House — Fire Proof Vault— War of the Rebellion — Money Voted 
for Soldiers' Families— bounties— Sum Total of ^loney Voted 
during the War for War I'urposes — Funded Debt — Duty of Town 
to Needy Soldiers — Monument — Party Struggles — Character of 
Early Officers — A ^Memorable Contest — Improved Order. 



fS COXTEXTS. 

CHAPTER X. IGo-Kin 

HAVEKIIILL IN THE ItEVOLUTION. 

I'loiiiiiieiice in tlie Revolution — Geographical Position — Able Leaders 
— Conii)ac-t — Cohos well known to Enemy — Col. Johnston's Let- 
ter — Fui-ts in the Upper Cohos — Rangers at Haverhill — Haverhill 
tlie Rendezvous for Troops and Scouting Parties — Character of 
the Ranger — Haverhill in constant Comnuinication with Exeter 
and the Northern Armj^ — Col. Wyman's Regiment — Four Stock- 
ades — Alarm from Indians in 1770 — Retreat of our Army from 
St. Johns — Great consternation at Cohos — A Second Alarm in 
1777 — Again after the Fall of Ticonderoga — Military Road from 
Cohos to St. Johns — "Block Houses" — The Alarm of 1780 — Town 
Authorities wide-awake — Frequent votes of Powder, Lead and 
Fire-arms — Efficient Committee of Safety Men — Conferences with 
other Towns — Vigilant eyes on Home-enemies — The Conspiracy 
of Col. Porter and others — Strong feeling — Persons who were ob- 
noxious to the British— Rev. Peter Powers — Col. Johnson cap- 
tured — Geri. Bailey's Escape — Dea. Elkins" Alarm — Quotas of 
Beef and Flour — Transportation of Grain from Cohos prohibited — 
Money-Patriots — Disastrous effects of the War — Rapid increase 
of Town Expenses — Sale of Rights — Decrease of Population dur- 
ing tlie War. 



CHAPTER XL 176-84 

EXTEHl'RISES AXD BUSIXESS. 

First Siiw-mill and (irist-mill — General Progress — Liberal Otl'er for 
Blacksmith — First Saw-mill and Grist-mill at Hosmer Brook — 
Second Saw-mill — Other Mills — Fulling Mill — Side Light — Flax 
Mill — Water l*ower — Rafting Lumber — First Tannery — Cloth and 
Carding Mill— Potash Factory— Paper Mill— Other Mills and 
Shoi)s— Pulp Mill — Swasey Mills — Other Factories and Shops — 
Woodsville Lumber Co. — Marble Works — Other Enterprises — A. 
F. Pike iMaiuifacturing Co. — Stores and other business at Corner, 
North Havei-hill. East Haverhill, Pike Station, Woodsville. 



CHAPTER XH. 185-1)3 

ROADS AXD BRIDGES. 

Roads and (ivili/ation — First Roads little more than I>ridle-j)aths — 
First ()x-t((ani from Haverhill to Plvmouth — Course of tin- Road 



rOXTKNTS. 9 

— Road from I'ortsiiiuuth to Colios— Fir.<t niciitiou of Town Koads 
— lioad from the "riain" to Coventry line, the Earliest Town 
Koad— Ingress to Cohos— A Su«?<^estive Vote — The Road from 
Piermoiit to Bath— Alonj? the side-hill — The Oliverian IJoad— 
Hi«;h\\ay Taxes and Labor— Publie Ferry— County IJoad— IJoads 
l)uilt l)ef()re ISOO— Ifoads extended and built as Population settled 
in Eastern part of Town — Character of Koads— Cohos Turnpike 
Cori)orators — Improvement in I'oads — Poom for further improve- 
ment — Permanent material — Crades — Poad Enjjineers — Pail road 
— Canal — I'.rid^res. 



CHAPTER XIII. l!)4-205 

MAILS, STA(4ES, TAN'EHXS. 

Early Communieation — First ^lail — Tohn Baleh — State Pontes — Pos- 
tage— Haverhill Oftiee— National Mails— Dutch Mall Wagon— Col. 
Silas May — Post Horn — Express — Bi-weekly Mail — First stage 
line — William Snuirt — Second stage line — Robert Morse — First 
Trip — Col. Silas May driver — Entrance into Haverlnll — Almost 
an Accident — Tii-weekly Mails — Daily — Extras — The Drivers 
— Hanover Route — Six-horse Coaches— Haverhill a great stage 
center — Travel — Stage I/ines — Famous Drivers — Their Character 
— Responsible Positions — Some Successful Men — Drinking Habits 
— Taverns : Bliss*, Coon's, Towle's, Exchange. Sinclair's, Second 
Coon tavern, earliest tavern, Richardson's, Ladd's, Howard's, 
Morse's, Cobleigh's, Swan's, Morse Hill tavern — A great thorough- 
fare — Teams and Teamsters — Provisions — Lodgings — Large Teams 
— Crouch Tavern — A famous hostelry — The old-time tavern 
Haverhill's stage-tavern — Xews Center — Bar room — Fire-i)lace — 
Flip — Mental training — The Landloid. 



CUAPTEK XIV. ■2(n]-2Hy 

EDUCATIOX ACADEMY. 

Early Education — School lots laid out — School money — Larlicst 
School Districts and School Houses — Second Class of School 
Houses — Re-districting— District Schools increase with popula- 
tion — Town system — First Board of Education — Town liberal in 
maintaining Schools — School Centres— The Corner and Woods- 
ville Schools— Dartmouth College (irant — Incidents Haverhill 
Aca lemv. 



10 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XV. 217-23(1 

KELICION AND riHUfll KS. 

Religion and tlu' foundors— Early vote to call Kev. Teter Powers- 
Salary — Temporary proachino; — First meetings at Newbury, Vt. 
—Parsonage Lot — Extent of Parish — ^Finister paid by Town — 
Protest — Certain Persons excused — Meeting House — Meetings in 
Houses and Barns — Union Meeting House in Newbury — Coming 
of Mr. Powers— I'eople worshipped part of time in Newbury — 
Crossing I'iver — Mr. Powers" Parish — 'I'owu divided into two 
Parishes — Propagating the (tospel — Church organizations — First 
Congregational Church — Pastors: Ethan Smith, .Tohn Smith, 
(irant Powers, Henry AVood, .Toseph (Jibbs, Archibald Fleming. 
Samuel Delano. Moses C. Searle, Edward H. Greeley, .Tohn 1). 
Emerson. John (}. P>irtinger, Eugene W. 'Stoddard — ]\[ethodist 
Ei)iscopal Church: North Haverhill, Corner, East Haverhill — 
Baptist Church, North Haverhill — Free Will Baptist Church — 
Union Church — Advent Church — Protestant Episcopal Cliurch, 
Woodsville— Methodist Episcopal Church, Woodsville. 



CHAPTER XVI. 237-253 

IIAVETJTTILL IN WATJ. 

Her honorable i)osition and olticers of highest rank — Eistof Haverhill 
Soldiers in the several Wars — War of the Revolution — War of 
1S12 — Mexican War — War of the Rebellion — Second 15egiment — 
Fourth Regiment — Sixth Regiment — Ninth Regiment — Eleventh 
Regiment — Fifteenth Regiment — Eighteenth Regiment — First 
Regiment Heavv Artillerv — First Cavalrv. 



CHAPTER XVII. 254-286 

THE LAWYERS OF tIAVEKHILL. 

Moses Dow — Aldcn Sprague — John I'orter — Moses Dow, Jr. — George 
Woodward — Joseph Emerson Dow — John Nelson — Henry Hutch- 
inson — David Sloan — Joseph Bell — Samuel Courtland — Edmund 
Carleton — Hale A. .Tohnston — Edward R. Olcott — Daniel Blais- 
d(?ll — Jonathan Bliss — William H. Duncan — Samuel C. Webster — 
Nathan B. Felton — David Dickey — David H. Collins — Jonas Da- 
rius Sleeper — John S. Bryant— David Page — Charles E. Thomp- 
son—George W. Chapman— Charles R. Morrison— Nathaniel W. 
W^estgate— George F. Putnam — Luther C. Morse — Samuel T. 
Page— Samuel B. Page— William F. Westjrate. 



rOXTKNTS. 11 

CHAPTEK XVIII. 287-309 

DOCTORS. 

Samuel White — .Foliii I'ortcr — Siumu'l llalc — Martin IMi('ii)s— Isaac 
Moore — Aiiiasa Scott — Kdiiiuiul (arlotoii — Kzia Uartlctt — Ezra 
Bartlett, Jr. — John Aii<J:l('r — .loei Anjjier — Anson Urackct — Simon 
B. Heath — Ilirani Morjian^IIenry Hayos — Edward Mattot-ks — 
Phineas Spalding — Henry B. I>eonard — Homer II. Tenny — Samuel 
P. (arbee — Haven Palmer — Moses 1). ('arl)ee — Clarence H. (lark 
— Edward J. Brown — Henry P. Watson — Charles It. r;ii)son — 
Oliver D. Eastman — Charles Newcondi — Myron S. Wetherhee — 
James B. Clark, Dentist — Mose? X. Howland, Dentist. 



CIIAPTKK XIX. ;U0-3.-)3 

IIAVKIMIILL AIUIOAI). 

Haverhill's honorable careei' Abroad — Charles J. Adams — J. Dorsey 
and George Angier — Eouisa Page Babcock — Bacon Brothers — 
Barstow Brothers : Alfred, Anson, Gardner— Ceorge Barstow — 
Charles W. — lohn Barstow— Mary Barstow— Ha/en Bedel— John 
Bedel — James W. Bell — John Bell — James P. Brewer — Samuel 
Brooks — Edwin Brooks— Edward C. and George Burbeck — James 
A. Cutting — Frederick Crocker — Xoah Davis — Moses Elkins — D. 
E. Farnsworth— Charles X. I'landers- Eucien II. Frary — Warren 
(iookin- Michael (iray— Hunts: Caleb S., Horace, Prescott, 
Helen — Johnstons: Charles, Hannah— Joliii Kimball — \\illiam H. 
Leith— Merrill Brothers : John L., Benjamin, ( liarles 11.— ^Villiam 
Merrill— Arthur .Mitchell— Morse Brotliers: Pcabody A.. (Jeorge 
W., Isaac S. — IJobert Morse — Joseph B. ^lorsc — Thomas E. 
Xelson — Niles Brothers: Alon/o F., Horace E. — (Jeorge B.. 
X'ellie and Clara Xichols— Person Xoyes — John A. Page — Moses 
S. Page— James II. Pearson- Samuel P. Pike— Elizabeth Abbott. 
Mary Webster. Henrietta Mumford and (Jeorge Carrington Pow- 
ers — John Peding— Kodgers Brothers: Eevi and M. Carleton— 
Jonathan II. and Chester Powell— Horace (>. Sopcr— l,yn)an D. 
Stevens — Smiths: Lyndon Arnold. Stephen. Sanl'ord, Carlos- 
Frank .V. Smith — \Villiani I'. Stowe — The Tarletons — Towles : 
Frederick and James— Nathaniel Wilson— Edward B. Wilson- 
William F. \Vhitchrr— Harvey H. \ViliiioMt .lohn E. \Voods— 
Franklin P. Wood. 



12 CONTEXTS. 

CHAPTER XX. 354-362 

DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL LIFE. 

Time — Chanj^es — L'ife Simple — Two Classes come to Haverhill, the 
Well-to-do and Enterprising, and the Dependent — The first House 
— Frame Houses, two sizes — The great Fire-place and Chimnej' — 
The Children and "Popped Corn"" — "Lug Pole'"^ — "Trammels"' — 
Crane — Frj?ing-pan — Dutch Oven — Spit — "The Goose Hangs 
High" — Furniture — Pots and Kettles — The Dresser — Pewter 
Dishes — Wooden Dishes — Two-tined Forks — Hemlock Brooms — 
Sanded Floors — Carpets Pare — Domestic Duties — Wants Few — 
Life Happy and Virtuous — Diet — Tea and Cofl'ee — Drinks — Flip 
and Punch — AVine — Drinking Social — Sugar Making — Paring-bee 
— Games — Huskings — Muster-daj^ — Social Character of Church- 
going — Society People — Otticial Position and Moral Wortli — The 
Commencement of New Order — I'ebellion against forced payment 
of ]\[inisters" Taxes — Churcli-Going less Universal — The Stage- 
coach — Blinds, Pictures and Ornaments — Wooden Plates, sanded 
Floors, and Hemlock Brooms Yield — First Four-wheeled Carriage 
— First Piano — Cliaiscs — Wagons — Clocks. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 362-417. 

Indian Names, 3G2 

Indians, 3G4 

Fairs and Makkkts, :um; 

Wild Animals, Gamk and Fish, 3G7 

An Egyptian Plague, 368 

The Pigeons, 3G9 

The Great Flood, .'5G!» 

Houses of Eefuge, 370 

A Noted Character, 371 

Horse Meadow, 373 

The Poor, 37 1 

Hog Peeve, 374 

TvTHiNG Man, 374 

Courts and Court Houses, 375 

Two PIisTORic Farms, 379 

The GiJEAT Pines, 381 

Drinking Haiuts, 382 

PiERMONT BOUNDAUV DiSl'UTE, 383 

The Vermont Union, 387 



rOXTEXTS. 13 

l.lltlv'AKIKS, 390 

Xkwsi'AI'ek.s, " 391 

Two Grkat Pi.AGi ss, 393 

Banks, 394 

Hangings, 395 

Cyclone, 397 

Powder House, 398 

Steamboats, 398 

Making Cider, 399 

Teaming, 400 

Training Day. 400 

The Great Accident. 403 

The Great Fire, 404 

First Jersey Stock. 405 

a komance, 406 

The Clcumber Story, 407 

Local Names, 409 

Masonry, 413 

Pine Grove Farm. 415 

Odd Fellows, 416 

i'atriarchs militant, 417 

Good Tem tears, 417 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Ai'PF.XDix, 419-431 

CoKlfECTlONS, 433 

IxDEX, 435 



DEDICATED 

TO 

THE MEMORY 

OF 

Haverhill's most distinguished citizen, 

BRAV1-; IX WAH. AVISK IX COl XCII., I'lBLIC Sl'IKlTEl) AXD 
KXKMIM.AKV IN LIKK, 

COL. CHAKLES JOHNSTON. 




OUTLIXK MAP — TOWN OF HAVERHILL 



HlSTOm^ OF HAVErJIILL. 

CHAITKK I. 

IXTUO DICTION' . 

Author's aim — Early iiusterial iiii|i('rfe<'t — OtUcial acts siii)i)lciiifiiti'il liy trailitioii, 
conversations, ami family records — Energy, coiira>fe, and perseverance ot the 
t'ounilers — Chancres in life and habits. 

It is my intention in tlie tollowing pa^es to write the 
history of Haverhill from its Krst diseovery by tiie white 
man down to the present time. The earlier years? of this 
history, from the first occupaney of the Cohos Conntry, 
when Johnston and Pattie spent the winter of 17()l-2 at 
the Ox Bow, * must necessarily he somewhat ineom[)lete, 
as both the records of the Proprietors, as well as the records 
of the Town, are in some places imperfect ; and evvu when 
they are complete and uninterrupted they record only the 
public acts of the Proprietors and of the Town, and <j:ive 
little information, except incidentally, of the character of the 
pet)ple and the sph'it of the times. 

However, with this material at iiand, and with such other 
aids as I have been able to connnand, of family records, 
with the memory of the oldest inhabitants i-cachinu- back to 
tiie close of the last century, and handin<i- down from that 
})eriod the fresh conversations and traditions of an e:irlier 
generation, many of whom lived and died in the first (piartc r 
of the present century, I hope to be able to present the 
history of the Town as full and complete as possible. We 
shall see how a brave and resolute people, coming into these 
Indian wilds, laid the foundations of pros}>erity, of hapjii- 
ness, and of social order : how before their sturdy enterprise 
and indomitable energy the massive and dense forests disaj)- 
peared from the broad river intervals, and the rich soil bi-came 

* In these pages "Ox Bow " stands for ■' r.ittlc Ox Uow." 



IH msTOltV OF HAVEIMIILL. 

;i garden of fVuitt'iilne.ss, yo tliat in times of scarcity or famine 
in tlie reg-ions around Haverhill was a granary of abundance, 
an Egyptian storeliouse, for the hungry and destitute ; how 
tlirough many perils and hardships mills were erected, water- 
powers trained into the service of man, and machinery in the 
absence of roads was dragged by human exertion over lonjj: 
reaches of bridle-path ; how in the earlier years of the new 
settlement they lived in rude huts and log cabins with few 
conveniences and comforts, and suffered many self-denials 
and dangers ; liow the school and the church, those twin 
sup[)orts of all that is best and most ho[)eful in a community, 
were early established and maintained Avith praiseworthy 
self-sacrifice and devotion ; how from scanty beginnings thev 
rose to prosperity and riches, from dwelling in damj) and 
uncomfortable homes to living in well-built houses, and 
surrounded with the comforts and conveniences of a better 
civilization ; how the In-idle-jjath and blazed way yielded to 
well-constructed and safe highways, and the tedious journey- 
ings on horseback were exchanged for the comfortable and 
social conveyances of later times ; how sanded floors, and 
rough benches, and bare walls, and simple table-ware gave 
way to mats, and car[)ets, and pictures, and pianos, to china 
and silver-service : how the huge fire-place with pot-hooks 
and tranmiels, the spinning-wheel and home-made fabrics, 
were dis[)laced by modern inventions and conveniences. 

We shall also see how in the long struggle between the 
mother country and her colonies our forefathers were fired 
with earnest zeal and lofty j>atriotism foi- the I'ights of man, 
and furnished both men and money beyond their means to- 
advance the cause of religious and political liberty ; how in 
the new demand which was laid upon their earlier descendants 
many of them ha\ e a proud place in the history of our com- 
mon country ; and later still how in the great War of the 
Rebellion when the Union was assailed from within and 
threatened with disiuj)tion, her citizens resjionded with 



patriotic proinptncfis and to tlic lull oi' tlicir ability to the; 
call of duty ; how i'roin their loins a goodly company ot" 
noble men and women have gone f'ortli into other fields of 
labor and endeavor, and have won honor and eminence in 
})rofessional life and in business enterprises, as teachers, 
lawyers, doctors, ministers, leaders of society and of i)rog- 
ress as well as that larger number who, standing by the old 
fire-sides, have achieved an honorable name and a well- 
earned title to usefulness and esteem here. 

We shall also note that the transition from the simplicity 
of life and habits of our forefathers to those of a later period, 
has its parallel in the contrast between the very general and 
heroic and stronger virtues, and the more effeminate and 
irresolute traits of their descendants. These and more than 
these we shall see in the unfolding of the Town's history as 
recorded in the following j)ages. 



CHAPTER II. 

GEOGKArHY OF THE TOWN. 

Xanie— Extent and Viiluf of t'arnipriiduet-s — Boundaries — Scenery — Area — I'oiui- 
lation — Villages — Mountains — Rivers and Streams — Ponds — Islamls — (ieol- 
ogy, Soil, and Minerals — Water-power — Koads. 

The Town of Hiiverhill took its nuuie t'roiu Haverhill, 
Mass., from the fact that the first white })ersons who periiia- 
iiently oeciipied its territory eame from that town. It is one 
of the richest and most important agricultural sections of 
the state, cutting ahout one thousand tons more hay per 
annum than is cut in any other town, and whose farm prod- 
ucts are only exceeded in value by that of one other town in 
the state. 

From its scnithern limit on the town of Piermont to its 
northern limit on the Ammonoosuc is a distance of ahout ten 
miles ; and from the A'ermont bank of the Connecticut river, 
which winds in sweeping and tortuous curves through its west- 
ern borders, to its eastern boundary on the town of Benton, 
it averages a breadth of about six miles. 

The geographical features of the To\\'n are of ^aried and 
picturesque beauty, embracing within its limits the broad 
and fertile intervals of the Connecticut — the heart of the 
famous Cohos Country in Indian history — with the uplands 
stretching away to the east till they swell into the foot-hills 
and outer bastions of grand Moosilauke, more familiarly 
known as "Moose Hillock," whose broad shoulders and mas- 
sive granite walls can be seen from all parts of the Town. 

The beauty and even grandeur of the scenery from many 
localities in the Town is unsurpassed. One of the sons of 
Haverhill, who has done honor to the Town in his profes- 
sional career, now residing at the Golden Gate of the Pacific 
Coast, writing of the magnificent scenery of that region, 
says, " You have heard much of the Yosemite Valley and 
its magnificence, but standing on some ele^ated [)oint in the 



GEOGRAPHY. 21 

Town of Haverhill, and looking east toward Moosilaukc you 
can on any clear day t*ee a view which in beauty and grand- 
eur far surpasses that of the Yosemite." Longfellow once 
on a visit to ITaverliill, and walking down with a friend from 
the village to l\)wder House Hill, after taking in the view fron^ 
that point up and down the river, with the broad intervals 
" dressed in living green," and the river quietly and peacefully 
winding in beautiful sweeps and reaches through the twenty 
mile valley in sight, said to his friend, a son of Haverhill, 
" I have seen the beauties of foreign lands, but the beauties 
from this spot surpass anything I have ever seen." Others 
have spoken in similar language, and many are the expres- 
sions of her loyal sons and daughters in writing to me, of 
their fresh and loving remembrance of the beautiful scenery 
of their childhood-home. 

These praises of the beauty and ])icturesqueness of the 
scenerv and physical features of Haverhill are not exaggera- 
tions, and their exactness can be verified from numerous 
points of observation. They are u{)on the lips of all who 
come here. The many roads through the Town furnish as 
charming and inviting drives as can be found any where in 
the state. Nothing can excel the bewitching and varying- 
landscape which meets the eye as you follow the road east- 
ward along tlie ()li\ci-ian. On cithci" side the littU' xalicy 
is hemmed in by hills and moiuitaiiis. Then spreading out 
into ample dimensions like a \ast amphitheatre, with massive 
Moosilauke standing guai<l in the distance, Bald Face at 
the head of the broad Benton meadows, and the hills and 
mountains like guardian sentinels encircling the snug little 
village of East Haverhill, with cultivated fields running back 
from the brook to the foot-hills, and farm houses and shady 
ways l)reaking the view into beauty and variety. 

On the wide exjjansc on which is built the \ ilhige of 
North Haverhill the eye rests on an unsurpassed scene of 
j)ictures(pieness and vwn grandi'ur, with IMack Hill and 



22 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Hog BiK'k. and again the broad trout of ^loosilauke to 
crown the view. The landscape any where from the Pier- 
inont line along the road through Haverhill village and Ladd 
Street is a succession of surprises and charms that have 
called forth from all whose eyes have ever lingered upon tlie 
view tlie most enthusiastic expressions of delight. Here the 
meadows are broad and well cultivated, and the valley in 
spring and summer resembles an immense floor of bightest 
emerald, through whicli the river in great curves Avinds its 
gleaming course. On the Vermont side is a line of high 
hills walling in the valley from the west, whilst Mt. Gardner 
with its solid front looks down from the north. Xewburv, 
AVells Eiver, Bradford, South Xewburv, are within sweep 
of the eye, and grand Moosilauke stands perpetual watcli 
over this charming landscape. 

The area of the Town is about o"),000 acres, nearlv 
two-thirds of which is favorable to cultivation, and has 
for the most part been brought under fruitful and jirofit- 
able tillage. The remainder is pasturage and woodland. 
The former furnishes in great abundance most excellent and 
nutritious grass both for dairy and stock, whilst the latter is 
"svell covered witli timber and wood, consisting chiefly of 
birch, beech, maple, and hemlock. The present standing of 
Avood and timber, much of which is second growth, is estimated 
b}^ persons of safe judgment to be greater in quantity than 
the wood and timber which was on the same area twentv 
years ago. The increase of growth, it is thought, has been 
more rapid than the loss by consumption and waste. 

The population when the census of 1880 was taken was 
2452. The number of families at that time was about d'2d, 
averaging nearly five persons to a family. The number of 
polls of those present in the Town is not far from 600. 
The population has varied Aery little during the last tAvo 
decades, and is udw al)out stationai-y. It is chiefly nati\e 
cxce])t a small French element which the railroad has 



GEOUKAIMIV. 23 

l)rouoht in at U'oodsville, but this is: not large enough to 
offset the general American character of the population and 
influence of the Town. 

There are four villages in the Town, the most historic and 
jirominent of these is Haverhill Corner which was early 
scttlcd. within a year after of the first settlement at the Ox Bow 
in 17iI2. It is tiie west county seat of Grafton County, and 
contains the court house, jail, county building for countv 
officers, the Academy, two churches, and the Exchange 
Hotel. In addition to these there are also business places : 
two good stores, a jeweller, druggist, fancy goods and millin- 
ery, shops, lawyers' offices, and the C'ohos Printing Press. 
Here is also ])rinted and published the " (xrafton County 
Register.'' The village numbers in all, including Ladd 
street, over one hundred jjrivate residences, many of which 
are large, subr^tantial, square houses of the olden times, and 
give an air of respectability and prosi)crity to t!ie place. In 
the center of the village is the large and beautiful Park 
aroimd which is a fine growth of elms and maples, and 
fronting on thd Park are many of the best residences of the 
village : the Exchange Hotel is on tlic west side of the Park, 
and the Congregational church and Academy are at the 
north-east corner. The village except in court time is ideal 
in its (juiet and rest. In summer time, however, it is quite 
a resort for tourists and visitors, especiallv with tJiose who 
seek a restful and invigorating atmosi)here and pleasant 
social surroundings. With entei-prise and well directed cayt- , 
ital the place c(ndd be made one of the most [lopular and 
inviting in all New England. There is every element of a 
successful sunmier resort, — excellent societv, scenery unri- 
valled, air pure and bracing, di"i\cs of great varictv and 
comfort, two lakes within easy reach by carriage, lioating 
and fishing, and frecpient trains sweep near by on either side. 
Few houses have been built in the last forty years, and only 
one of marked niodcrn stvlc, that of Mrs. IJ. 1). Tiicki-r, 



24 HISTORY OF HAVEUHILL. 

which is a handsome Queen Ann structure. The vilhige 
proper contains one ]SIain street running north and south, 
and Court street on which are situated tiie court liouse and 
county buikhng. 

North Haverhill is a l)eautiful little village of" some forty 
houses on the west end of a wide plain drained by Poole 
Brook. It contains a number of substantial private houses, 
several stores, a good sized hotel, shops, the Methodist 
church, and the new Town house and re(;(^rds building. The 
Boston and Lowell railroad runs close by the village, and 
the hotel has been generally well filled with visitors in sum- 
mer months. 

At the extreme north end of the Town, at the Junction of 
the Ammonoosuc with the Connecticut, is the village of 
Woodsville, named from John L. Woods who at one time 
was the owner of the land on which the village stands. For 
many years it was the terminus of the Boston, Concord and 
Montreal railroad, but is now an important railroad junction. 
The village is a bright, active, growing place, and does a 
large amount of business Avith the j)ros[)CCt of becoming a 
prominent center in this section. The White Mountain, 
Montpeher and Wells River, and the Passumpsic railroads 
connect at this point with the Boston and Lowell railroad. 
Woodsville is of quite recent growth, and in the past few 
years has doul)led in size and population. Twenty-five years 
ago there was little more than the round-house and railroad 
station. Now there are a numl)er of substantial residences and 
many pretty cottage houses, two churches, an excellent grad- 
ed school building, two large hotels, stores, shops, a superior 
water supply, and the headquarters of the White Mountains 
division of the Boston and Lowell railroad. 

These three villages are all on the western side of the 
Town, — Woodsville and North Haverhill near the banks of 
the Connecticut, whilst Ha\erhill Corner is situated on a 
hiii'h bluff al)out two hundi'ed feet above the river bed and 



GEOGHAPIIY. 25 

nearly a mile back, overlooking the river and having a 
commanding view of the valley north and south. 

The other village is East Haverhill in the south-east part 
of the Town on tlie Oliverian ahout a mile from tiie Benton 
line. It is situated in the midst of the beautiful and wide 
expanse of meadow which is formed by the Oliverian and 
the ^.ol•th Ih'ancli. It contains pleasant and l)right houses, 
two stores, shops, the ^Tethodist church, and a station on 
the Boston and Lowell railroad. 

A little hamlet has grown up at Pike Static »n in con- 
nection with the wlu't-stone Avorks of the A. F. Pike 
^Manufacturing Company, where there is also a store. The 
road from this point to East Haverhill is (piite thickly settled, 
almost forming a continuous village between the two points. 
The remaining area of the Town under tillage is nuich of it 
somewhat sj)arsely settled. 

There are no high mountains within the limits of the 
Town. The highest points of land are in the southern 
section, — Catamount Hill and Iron Ore Hill, the latter lying 
})artly in Piermont. A range of well defined hills of con- 
siderable height, divided by Poole lirook, traverse the centre 
of the Town from south to north, of Avhich IJriar Hill forms 
the highest elevation. There is also an irreguhu" range or 
cluster of hills in the north-western ]iart of the Town, 
commencing east of Horse Meadow and lunninir north to 
the Bath line. The surface of the Town may be described 
in general as irregular and broken, excepted along the river 
and in the plains already describid, that at Xorth Haverhill 
and the other at East Haverhill. 

The \ermont bank of the Connecticut lvi\(r marks the 
western boundary of Haverhill. The river flows in a very 
winding direction through the Town, traversing a distance 
of about eighteen miles in its coiu'se, and forming in the 
northern pai't the famous ( )x Bow. The intervals or 
'' meadows," as they are usually called, are of great breadth 



26 IIISTOKY OF IIAVEIilllLL. 

and of rare fertility, and are unsurpassed by any lands in 
the entire eourse of the river. Here are some of the laro-est 
and finest and most productive farms in the state, v»'hieh are 
annually enriched by the Spring overflow of the Connecticut, 
sometimes filling- the valley from side to side, and presenting 
the appearance of a large lake. 

The Ammonoosuc, which comes down from the White 
]Mountain range, is a large branch of the Connecticut and 
forms the boundary line at the exti-eme north-west end of 
the town. It furnishes excellent water-power. The Olive- 
rian is the next most important stream in size and water- 
power. It rises in the western slope of Moosilauke, enters 
the Town near the south-east corner, and pursuing a westward 
direction empties into the Connecticut a little north of 
Haverhill Corner, after a rapid descent by a series of steep 
falls just above its mouth. This is a swift mountain stream, 
and gathers the water fall in a few hours after rains. It 
becomes angry and of full volume in the Sjjring and in rainy 
seasons, whilst in Summer months when the season is dry it 
shrinks to the dimensions of a moderate sized brook. Its 
])rincipal tributary is North Branch which comes in from 
Benton, flows near the east line of the Town, and meets the 
main stream at Kast Haverhill. 

Poole Brook with numerous small feeders has its spring in 
the north-east part of the Town, and running in a circuitous 
course through the center, forming Deming Pond in its way, 
reaches the Connecticut at the old Town farm. Its northern 
branch rises in French Pond. This brook thaverses the wide 
and fertile plain at North Haverhill. The name of this 
brook was given to it from the fact that a man of that name 
lived in the earliest settlement of Haverhill on the north side 
of the brook not far from its mouth. Poole lost his life in 
the Connecticut at the "Narrows" as did his only child, 
Polly, Avho was drowned at the Ox Bow. 

AV^ithin the limits of Haverhill there are no ponds of any 



(;EOGiiAriiv. 27 

considerable, size, which are so |)r()inineiit a fcatiirt' ot' otlier 
sections of the state. AVoods' l^oiid in the southern part of" 
the Town, f^onii- l*ond in the central, and French Pond in 
the northern are the oidy bodies of still water, and these are 
quite limited in extent. 

The only island of any notable area is in the ( 'omiecticut 
Kiver north of Ox liow, known as "Howard Island," and was 
so named in honor of one of the earliest and most prominent 
settlers of the Town, Col. Joshua Howard, who livi'd to the 
ag-e of ninety-nine years. 

The general geologic rock area of the Town, according to 
Prof. Hitchcock, is known as "Bethleiiein gneiss," and in this 
area is found the following varieties of stone : protogcne, 
common gneiss, granite beds, hornblende chist, soapstone, 
and limestone. Along the Connecticnt River the soil is allu- 
vial, in the plain at North Haverhill a clayey loam, and at 
East Haverhill there is also alluvial soil. The remainder of 
the Town is of the ordinary soil of New Hani[)shire u[)lands. 

Ores and minerals are found in the Town, iron in the 
reoion of Iron Ore Hill, which was formerlv dug to some 
extent and drawn to a smelting furnace in Vermont. Native 
arsenic, a rare mineral in the United States, and almost 
wholly confined to New Ham[)shire, is found on Francis 
Kimball's farm. Soapstone was early discovered at the 
North End, and a few years ago efforts were made in <puir- 
rving and bringing it into market, but the attempt proved a 
financial failure. Tiic vein is from twelve to fifteen feet 
wide, and the stone is said to be capable of a finer edge than 
any other similar stone in the country. AVhetstone on Cut- 
ting Hill near the Piermont line, exists in immense beds 
which have been worked for o\cr a half century and manu- 
factured into all kinds of tool-sharpeners. There are granite 
(piarries in the noi'thern and southern parts of the Town. 
The stone of the latter is said to be of the \cry finest 
qualitv. Tjimestone is found along the xallcy of the North 



28 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Branch of the Oliverian, which has been quarried and burned 
in years past in hirge quantities. It is bkie and gray, the 
former fine, the latter coarse. It is said lime can be made here 
much cheaper than at Thomaston, Maine. 

The water-power of the Town, — that at AVoodsville is 
ample enough to drive large machinery, whilst that of the 
Oliverian, which near its mouth makes a descent to the Con- 
necticut river of about eighty feet in the short space of 
forty or fifty rods, furnishes sufKcient head in seasons of 
ordinary water, but the power is very uncei-tain in the sum- 
mer months, and is greatly crippled at that season of the 
year. Water storage in large quantities, it is said, could 
easily be secured by a comparatively small outlay on the 
North Branch back of vSugar Loaf. Water-power is also found 
at other points farther up the Oliverian and on the North 
Branch, whilst Poole Brook at North Haverhill a part of the 
year is very available for such purposes. 

The Town is well provided with roads. Those rimning'^ 
the length of the Town are the Kiver road from Haverhill 
Corner through North Haverhill to Woodsville, the County 
road from I^add street to Swiftwater, and a road from East 
Haverhill lunning in an irregular course near the Benton 
line commonly called the " Lime Kiln" road. Cross-roads 
connect these at convenient jioints, the most important of 
which are the road from Haverhill Corner, the Brook road, 
along the Oliverian, the Brushwood road, the road to the 
Centre from North Haverhill, and another to Briar Hill and 
Swiftwater, and one from the river to the Bath line, called 
the " Butler road." 



CHAPTER III. 

DISCOVEUV AM) K\ l'L< )I;ATI()X OF THE COIIOS COrXTUV. 

Early reports about it from Inmters, trappers, and returned soldiers — Plan to 
explore and take possession of the Country — A doubt — Project failed — An 
event that led to a earefulsurvey — Anewroute — The expedition of ITM- Capt. 
Powers' scouting party, 17o4 — Missions of the Powers and Lovewell parties. 

Some years before the foot of any white P^nglishinan or 
American had trod that part of the Connecticut Valley as 
a i)ermanent abode, which afterwards l)ecame famous as 
the Cohos Country, repoi'ts of its great fertility and yalue 
had reached the settlements as far down on the Connecticut 
riyer as Massachusetts, and these reports were known also 
to the Proyincial authorities of New Hampsliire. They 
were brought by hunters and trappers who vyere accustomed 
to go up to the head-watei-s of the Pemigcwasset and its 
tributaries and beyond, and also it is said l)y returned 
soldiers and captives who at the close of the French and 
Indian war came back from Canada by way of Lake 
Memphremagog and the Passumpsic and Connecticut riyers. 
Gen. Jacob Bailey, it is stated in the Life of Gen. Stark, 
passed fi-om Canada to his home in Newbury, Mass.. and 
was charmed with the Cohos meadows. 

As early as 17.")2 the General Court of New llauipshire 
took measures to exploiv and take possession of the country. 
The farthest northern settlement as late as 17(!0 in the 
Connecticut Valley was at "No. 4," now Charleston, 
and there were only a few settlements south of that point 
within the limits of the Proyince of New Hampshire. 
The original plan of 1752 was to take possession of 
the Cohos Country, and hold it as a military post 
against the French and Indians. The goyernment 
was to grant two townships to fiye hundred picked men 
who were to occupy the territory, — one on the A'ermont 
side of the Connecticut riyer, and the other on the New 



30 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Hampshire side. In each of tliese townships a fort or 
stockade was to l)e built and garrisoned. The enclosures 
were to contain fifteen acres each, laroe enouiih to (f'we 
shelter to the inhabitants and their cattle in case of an 
attack from the French and Jndiiins. These enclosures 
were to be provided with ]»ul)]ic buildings and granaries. 
Courts were to be established for the settlement of all civil 
matters, and a strict military discipline was to be maintained. 
The settlement in Cohos was also to be connected with 
No. 4 by a military road cut through the forest. 

Such was the general plan of occupancy as outlined 
in a letter of Col. Atkinson in the secretary's office of Xew 
Hampshire. And in order to carry out the scheme a 
conunittee was a[)p(»intcd to examine the lands and to 
locate the townshi[)s. Tiie way of access at that time to 
the Cohos Country, wiis by way of No. 4, and the com- 
mittee, it is said, after they had performed their duty, made 
a favorable report to the Provincial authorities, and four 
hundred men were actually enlisted to take })Ossession of 
the Cohos Country.* 

This project, however, was not carried out, as the 
al)origines wiio were in ])ossession of the country not only 
as a hunting-gi'ound, but had also cultivated some parts of 
it on both sides of the river, made earnest remonstrance 
and threats against the invasion of their territory by the 
whites. 

Meantime, an e\ent took place which led to an extensive 
and careful exj)loration of the Cohos Country. A jjarty of 
four men whilst hunting on Baker's river in the spring of 



* It has been held that the " conunittee " which was appointed in 
1752 to examine and la,y out tlie two townships, did hot fj;o to the 
(Johos Country, and that Capt. Powers and his party were tlie first 
explorers of this re;i^ion. This view is founded on these facts, first, 
that no account of the conunittee's work is recorded, and sei-ond. 
that in 1754 the (Jeneral Court in determining to send the Powers' 
party to the Cohos Country, call it an "• liitiierto unknown i-egion." 



DISroAEUV AM) KXl'I.OKATION. 31 

1752 was surprised by Indians. 'J'wo of tlieni were taken 
prisoners and carried away into Canada, one made his 
escape ]w flight, and the other was killed in the jiffray. 
One of the ])ersons named was flohn Stark, wiio afterwards 
became the brave and distinguished (Jen. Stark of the 
Kevolutionary War, and the hero of the battle of IJenning- 
ton. The Indians in taking their prisoners from Baker's 
river into Canada ))assed directly through the Cohos 
Country. Stark and his companion were soon released 
from captivity, and returned in the summer of the same 
year in which they were carried away. Thev gave an 
account of the Cohos Country, and their description of it 
Avas so favorable and enticing that the authorities Avere 
animated Avith ncAv zeal and determination to send an expedi- 
tion to the Connecticut river at Cohos. 

The Indian trail from Baker's river ti) the C\)nnecticut 
valley, over Avhich Stark and his fellow-prisoners were 
taken, and which Avas followed in their return from Canada, 
suggested to the authorities of Ncav Hampshire that the 
most "direct and feasible Avay to reach the Cohos Country 
Avas to go u[) the PemigcAvasset and liaker's iivci-s. and 
thence into the Connecticut valley by the Indian trail. And 
this route Avas the one chosen by the party sent out for the 
purpose of marking a road into Cohos, at the head of which 
Avas Col. Lovewcll with flohn Stai"k. the ictumcd prisoner, 
as their guide. 

The pai'ty started from Concoi-d, then called Iviimford. 
March 10, IToo, and foUowt'd up tlie Merrimack, I'emige- 
wasset, and Baker's rivers, using canoes whenever the Avater 
Avould permit. The i)arty left Baker's river at the junction 
of Pond Brook, the north-west branch of the main stream, 
and reached the Connecticut river at Piernumt through the 
north-east part of Avhat is now the toAvn of Orford. The 
round journey, a distance of about one hundred sixty miles, 
Avas made in twentA' days. Col. LovcavcH and his partv 



32 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

remained on the Connecticut river only one night, and the 
next day they began their return to Concord. 

In the folknving year, 17o4, an expedition or scouting 
party was organized under the command of Capt. Peter 
Powers of Hollis. A detailed account of their journey is 
given in a diary or journal which was kept at the time, by 
Capt. Powers, and which was afterwards in possession of hi> 
youngest son, Samson Powers. 

The expedition left Concord, June 15, 1754, and reached 
Contoocook the same day. The following day being Sun- 
day, the Journal notes the fact that the })arty " tarried and 
went to meeting." A week later Capt. Powers and his 
associates had got as far as the mouth of Pond Broiok on 
Baker's river, Init perhaps on account of having penetrated 
beyond the limits of civilization and meeting houses, no 
mention is made of tarrying the second vSabbath for devo- 
tional ])urposes, and they marched on along Pond Brook. 
After advancing a short distance the party was compelled, 
" by reason of the dark weather," to follow the path which 
had been marked by Col. Lovewell and his men in INIarch, 
175o. The Connecticut river was reached on the 25th 
of June, the eleventh day after the expedition left Concord, 
at a })oint known as " Aloose Meadow, " afterwards owned 
bp Maj. Nathaniel INIerrill, and now in possessic)n of Benja- 
min Hibbard, a descendant of his. Then skirting alone: the 
Avide intervals of the Connecticut river the party encam[)ed 
on the banks of a "large stream which came out of the 
east," and which is described as furnishing " the best falls 
and conveniences of all sorts of mills." The march of this 
day nuist have been about twenty miles, and the encam[)- 
ment on the night jof June 25th was, in all probability, on 
the south side of Oliverean on the hi^h plat of (ground a 
little west of the Montgomery house, now owned by Capt. 
J. Leroy Bell. The river being much swollen by the 
frequent rains which are noted in the Journal, the explorers 



DISCOVERY AM) KXI'LOKATIOX. 33 

after a loni^ and toilsome journey would hardly venture to 
cross. 

In the Journal of the next day Capt. Powers noticed the 
fact of " clear intervals" on the Connecticut River. These 
intervals now known as (irreat Ox Bow in Xewlniry, Ver- 
mont, and Little Ox Bow in Haverhill, had been cultivated 
at times by the Indians. The hills of coi-n though swarded 
over and covered with a luxuriant growth of irrass were 
visible at latter date, 17G1, when Johnston and Pattie, the 
first white settlers, came to the Cohos Country. On reach- 
ing the Ammonoosuc the river was so deep and wide that 
the party were compelled to tarry and build a canoe before 
they were able to cross the stream. Capt. Powers and his 
men, after leaving the territory of the lower Cohos, within 
the limits of what is now Haverhill, continued their explora- 
tions as far as Lancaster. In their journey northward they 
passed along the high ground between the Connecticut and 
Ammonoosuc rivers. On the second day of July, finding 
their stores much reduced, with little hope of going forward 
with success, Capt. Powers resolved to return, and at once 
began preparations for the homeward journey. No Indians 
bad been met by the exploring party in their long march, 
but on the day of their return A\hilst the men were mending 
their shoes, Capt. Powers with two others made a short 
excursion to the north of the encampment, in the course of 
which they came to a place where Indians had been making 
canoes, and which apparently they had abandoned only a 
short time before. 

The last date in the Journal is July f)th, the expedition 
having reached on that day on the homeward journey as far 
as Haverhill, and on the night of that day the party encani[)- 
ed, according to the entry in the Journal, on the high 
ground near the Oliverian, which is described as '• the best 
of upland," and covered by " some quantity of large white 



34 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

pine." This encampment was in all likelihood on the 
ground now covered by Haverhill Village. 

The Powers' expedition as already stated was a scouting- 
party whose chief aim was a search for Indians. The 
exploration of the country was only incidental to its main 
purpose, and this was the first exploration of the Cohos 
Country unless the " committee" of 1752 actually went to 
Cohos. Col. Lovewell's party was sent to the Connecticut 
River and reached it at Piermont where it remained only 
one night, and then returned to Concord, and the object of 
this expedition was to mark a road to Cohos over the Indian 
trail between the Connecticut and Baker's rivers. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE niARTEll PERIOD. 

Influx of population— The Charter— Names of Grantees — Four divisions— House 
lots — Privileged "pitchers" — Governor Wentworth's "right" — Drawing — 
Numbering — Names of meadows — Grantees common to Newhury and Haverhill 
— Gen. Jacob Bailey — Col. Jacob Kent — Gen. Moses Hazcn. 

Although the Cohos Country was now fully explored by 
Capt. Powers and his party who gave a glowing account of 
its wonderful fertility and great resources, there was no 
immediate influx of emigration into the country till some 
years later. But after the conquest of Canada by the Eng- 
lish in 17G0, and when the frontiers were no longer ex[)Osed 
to the dangers and incursions of the French and their Indian 
allies, the spirit of emigration in the older settlements of 
New Hampshire and Massachusetts began again to revive, 
and large numbers of hardy and enterprising emigrants 
poured into the inviting openings of the Connecticut valley. 
In 1761 the Provincial authorities of Xew Hampshire made 
numerous grants of townships on both sides of the Connecti- 
cut River. The territory on the west side of the river as far 
as the Xew York line was at this time claimed as part of 
Xew Hampshire. 

The charter of the Townsliip of Haverhill bears date the 
18th of May, 1703, and was granted to seventy-fi\e jjcrsons. 
In addition to the seventy-five shares represented by these 
persons, His Excellency, (iovernor Benning A\'entwortii, 
Esq., was to have five hundred acres which were to be 
counted as two shares. .Vlso, there was a share each for 
the Society for the l*r()[)agation of the Gos[)el in Foreign 
Parts, for a glebe for the Ciuirch of England, for the first 
settled minister of the gospel, and for the benefit of a com- 
mon school. The charter witli the names of grantees is 
given in the following pages, tlie document being printed 
exactly as it was originally written, — capitals, spelling. 



36 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

abreviations, and punctuations are left unchanged. This is 
tlie only document which is so printed in this history ; all 
other papers of the olden time, as far as used, are made to 
conform to modern usage. This is printed as an example of 
the changes which have taken place in such matters since the 
days of the charter. 



CHARTER. 



puovixce of 
New Hampshire 



Jo 1 \ George The Third By the Grace of God of Grate Britean 

\ seal I France and Irehmd King Defender of The Faith &c &c 

To all Parsons to whom These Presents shall [come] Greeting — 

Know yee that we of our special Grace Certain Knowlige and mere 
motion for the Due Encouragement of Setting a New Plantation 
within our said Province by and with the advice of our Trusty and 
well Beloved Benning Wentworth Esq Our Governor and Commander 
in Chief of Our said Province of Nevvhampshlre in New England and 
Our Council of the said Province, Have Upon The Conditions and 
Reservations herein after made Given and Granted and by These 
Presents for us Our Heirs and Successors Do Give and Grant in 
Equal Shares unto Our Loving Subjects Inhabitants of Our said 
Province of Newhampshire and Our Other Governments and thier 
Heirs and assigns for Ever whose Names Are Entered on this Grant 
to be Divided to and Amongst them into Eighty one Equal Shares all 
that Tract or Parcel of Land Situate Lying and being within Our said 
Province of Newhampshiie Containing by Admeasurement 
Acres which Tract is to Contain more Than Six Miles Square Out of 
which an allowance is to be made for high Ways and unimprovable 
Jjands by Rocks Ponds Mountains and Rivers One Thousand and 
Forty Acres free according To a Plan and Survej^ thereof made by 
Our said Governors Order and Returned into the Secretary's Office 
and here unto anexed Budtted and Bounded as follows viz. Begining 
at a I'ree marked Standing on the Bank of the Estern side of Connec- 
ticut river and on the southerly or south westedly side of the mouth 
of the Amonuck River Opposite to the South westedly Corner of 
Bath* from thence Down Connecticut river as that runs Till it comes 
to a marked Tree Standing on the Bank of the River and is about 
Sevn (7) Miles On a straight Line from the mouth of Amonusk River 
aforesaid from thence south Fiftey Three Degrees Eeast five Miles 
and Three Quarters to a Stake and Stones Thence North Twenty Five 



' Bath was incorporated in 1701, tliough not settleil till a few years later. 



THE CIIAKTKU PEKIOU. 37 

Degrees East about Eijiht Miles Until it Corns upon a line with the- 
Lro [lower] Side Lino of Bath Thence North Fiftey Five Degress 
West as Bath Kuns to the Tree 1)\- the River The Hounds licgan at — 
and that the Same be and hereby is Incorporated into a Touiidsliip by 
the Name of Haverhill and the inhabitants that Do or Shall hereafter 
inhabit the said Toundship are hereby Declared to be Enfranchized 
with and Intitled to all and Every the Priviledges and Inununitie* 
that Other Tounds within Our Province by Law Enuse and injoy and 
further tliat the said Tound as soon as thire Shall be Fiftey Families 
Resident and settled Thereon shall liave the Liberty of Holding Twa 
Feares one of Which shall be held on the 
and the Other on the 

annually which Fairs are not too Continue Longer 
then the Respective Following the said 

and that as soon as the said Tound shall 
Consist of Fiftey families a Market may be Opened and Kept one or 
More Days in Each \Veek as may be Thought most advantageous to 
the Inhabitants also that the first Meeting For the Choice of Tound 
Officers agreable to the Laws of Our said Province Shall be held on 
ye Second Tuesday in June Next. 

Which sd meeting Shall be Notif j^ed by Capt John Hazzen who is 
hereby also appointed the Moderator of the said First Meeting which 
he is To Notify and Govern agreeable to the Laws and Customs of 
Our said Province and that the Amiual meetings forever hereafter for 
the Choice of such otlicers for the said Tound Shall be on the Second 
Tuesday of ^larch annually — 

To Have and To hold the said Tract of Land as above expressed 
together with all Privileges and appurtennance to them and Thire 
Respective heirs and assigns forever upon the following Considera- 
tions viz — 

1. That Every Grantee his lieres or assigns shall Plank^and Culti- 
vate Five acres of Land within the Term of F'ive Years for Every 
Fiftey acres Contained in his or Thire Shares or Piopotion of Land in 
said Toundship and Continue to Improve and Settle the Same by 
additional Cultivations on Penalty of Forfeiture of his Grant or 
Share in the said Toundship and of its Reverting to us Our lieres and 
Successors to be by us and them Regranted to Such of Our Subjects- 
as shall ElTectually Settle and Cultivate the same — 

21}'. That all White and Other Pine Trees within the Said Tound- 
ship Fit for Masting Our Royal Navy be carefully Preserved for that 
Use and not to be Cut or felled with Out our special Licence for so 
Doing First had and Obtained upon the Penalty of the Forfeituie of 
the Right of sutch Grantee his Iliers and assigns to us Our hiers 
and Successors as well as Being Subject to the Penalty of an act or 
acts of Parliament that Now are or here after Shall be Enacted — 



38 mSTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

31y That before any Division of the Land be made, To and among 
the Grantees, a Tract of Land as near the Centre of the s [said] Tound- 
ship as the land will admit of: Shall be Eeserved and marked Out 
For Tound Lotts one of which shall be allotted to Each Grantee of 
the Contents of One Acre — 

41y. Yieldino; and Paying therefor to us Our heirs and Successors 
for the Space of Ten Years to be Computed from the date hereof the 
rent of one Ear of Indian Corn only on the Twentey Fifth Day Decem- 
ber annually if Lawfully Demanded the First Paj'ment To be made 
■on the Twentey Fifth Day of December : 17G3. 

51y. Every Proprietor Settler or Inhabitant Shall Yield and pay 
unto us Our Heirs and Successors — j^early and Every Year forever 
from and After the Expiration of Ten years from the above sad Twen- 
tey Fifth Day of December Namely on the Twentey Fifth Day of 
December which will be the Year of Our Lord 1773 One Shillings 
Proclamation Money for Every Hundred [acres he so owns Settles or 
Possesses and So in Proportion For a Grater or Lesser Tract of the 
said Land : which money shall be Paid The Respective Parsons abov- 
said tliire Hiers or assigns in Our Council Chamber in Portsmouth or 
to sutch OfHcer or Officers as shall be appinted To Receive the «ame 
and This To be in Lieu of all Other Rents and Serviceses Whatsoever — 

In Testimony whereof we have Caused the Seal of Our said Prov- 
ince to be hereunto affixed Witness Benning Wentworth Eqr Our 
Governor and Commander in Cheaf of Our said Province the I8th 
DajM)f May in the Year of Our Lord Christ One Thousand Seven 
Hundred and Sixty Three and in the Third Year of Our Reign — by 
his Excellencys Command With the advice of Council — 

B Went WORTH 

T Atkinson Junr. Secry — 

Province of Newhampshire May ye IS 17G3 Recorded in the Book 
of Charters Page 397 & 398 

T Atkinson Junr. Secry — 

Thk Names of the Grantees of Haverhill. 

.John Hazzen Jaasiel Harriman 

Jacob Bayley Esq Jacob Kent 

Ephraim Bayley Eleazer Hall 

James Philbrook Samuel Hubbart 

Gideon Gould John Haile Esq 

John Clark Maxey Hazelton 

John Svvett Thomas Johnson 

Thomas Emery John Mills 

Benoney Colbourn John Trusial 

Reuben Mills Abraham Dow 

John Ilazzen Junr Uriah Morse 



THE CHARTER I'ERH)!). 



39 



Edniond Coblej' 
David Hall 
I.eniuel Tucker 
Edmond Moores Escj 
Jolm White 
Benjamin Moores 
William Hazzen 
Moses Hazzen 
Robert Peaslee 
Timothj^ Bedel 
John Spafibrd 
Enodi Heath 
William Page 
Joseph Kellej^ 
Aaron Hosmer 
John Harriman 
John Lampson 
Stephen Knight 
John Hall 
David Hulbart 
Simon Stevens 
John Moores 
William Toborn 
David Page 
James White 
Benj Merrill 
Nathaniel Merrill 
John Church 



Enoch Hall 
Jacob Hall 
Benoney Wright 
John Page 
Josiah Tjittlo 
John Taplin Esq 
Jona Foster 
Joseph Blanchard Escj 
Richard Pettey 
Moses Foster 

The Honorable 
James Nevin Esq 
John Nelson P]sq 
Theodore Atkinson Junr 
Nathaniel Barrel 
Col William Symes 
William Porter 
John Hastings 
Capt George Marsli 
Maj Richard Emery 
Capt Nehemiah Lovell 
Hon Henry Shorbern Esq 
MaJ John Wentworth 
Saml Wentworth Esq of 

Boston 
Bypeld Loyd Boston 

And his Excellency 



Governor Barnard 
His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq a Tract of Land to 
Contain Five Hundred Acres as Marked B : W : in the Plan which is 
to be accounted two of the within Shares One whole Share for the 
Incori)orated Society For the Propagation of the Gosi)el in Foreign 
Parts one whole Shaire for a Glebe for the Church of England One 
Share for the First Settled Minister of the Gospel and one Share for 
the Benefit of a School in said Tound— 

Province of New Hampshire May The 18th 1763 Recorded in tlie 
Book of Charters Page 399 &c T Atkinson Junr Secry 



The Proprietors at on(;e went to work to assi*;!! eacli 
owner his " riirht" or " share." The Town wasdivick^l into 
sections. First, came the meadow lots of one hundred 
acres each ; then the division of one hundred acre h)ts ; 
next, the eio;htv acre h:)ts, an<l hist the north and .south 



40 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

divisions of forty acre lots. But before any division of the 
land was to be made, a section in the centre of the Town 
was to be set apart for house lots of one acre for each 
grantee.* All shares were drawn by lot, except in the 
case of a few persons who were privileged to " pitch" their 
" rights," and several also were allowed to have their entire 
"right "in meadow lots. Capt. Hazen and Col. Jacob 
Bailey were allowed such privilege, and a few others who 
doubtless had something to do in getting the cliarter. Gov. 
Wentwortlfs " right " of five hundred acres, rated as two 
shares, was in the north-west corner of the Town, where 
Woodsville is situated, and next south of him was the 
"right" of his Secretary, Theodore Atkinson. All 
numbering of lots was from north to south, but the meadow 
lots were numbered according to the meadow the lots were 
in. For example, Upper meadow had nine lots which were 
numbered from one to nine as situated in that meadow ; 
Horse jMeadow had twenty lots and were numbered from 
one to twenty in that meadow, and so on.f 

Some of the grantees of Haverhill were also grantees of 
Newbury, Vermont. Of many of the names given in the 
list little or nothing is known. Probably some became 
Proprietors simply as a matter of speculation. We learn 
from the Proprietors' records that quite early " rights" were 
sold at public auction for the ])aymcnt of taxes. These 
rights belonged to persons who in all probability did not 
come to the new settlement, and their lands remaininn- un- 



*The object it would seem was to have a village street run through 
the centre of the town, on which the dwellings were to be built, 
witli each grantee's land running l)aek from the street. But the 
house lots in Haverhill were laid out along the high ground of the 
uieadows. 

tThe names of the meadows beginning at the north were as 
follows: I'pper Meadow, Horse Meadow, AVheeler Meadow, Ox Bow, 
Morse Meadow, Bailey Meadow, Ollverian Meadow. 



THE CHAUTKK rKKIOl). 41 

improved gained little in value, and as a consequence were 
allowed to be confiscated for taxes. 

Of these grantees of prominence who were also grantees 
of Newl)ury, and who^c interests were more in Newhurv 
than in Haverhill, foremost must be mentioned (ien. Jacob 
Bailey. He and ('aj)t. Hazen were warm friends, and acted 
together in the settlement of the Cohos Country. (Ien. 
Bailey became a very conspicuous man in the history of this 
rcy^ion, and held a hiy-li commission durinsf the Revolution- 
ary War, being Commissary General of the Xorthern Army. 
The Baileys of Xewbury and of Haverhill are descendants 
of Gen. Bailey. 

Jacob Kent was also a prominent citizen of Xewbury, and 
was the ancestor of the Kents oi' that Town. Hon. Henry 
O. Kent, the present Xaval Officer at Boston, is a grandson 
of Col. Jacob Kent. 

Moses Hazen was a brother of C^ipt. John Hazen, but 
went to St. Johns, Canada, before the Kevolution. At the 
connnencement of hostilities, however, he joined tiic revolu- 
tionists, and took a prominent [)art in the struggle for inde- 
jiendence, coming out of the contest with the rank of 
Brigadier General. He died in Albany, X. Y., in 17(S5. 

Of the grantees of Haverhill whose interests were more 
particularly with the develojnnent and progress of the Town, 
notice is taken in another place so far as anything could be 
learned of them. 



CHAPTER V. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT BEFORE THE CHARTER. 

Two remarkable men— Michael Johnston and John Pattie the first settlers, 1701— 
Wintered at O^ Bow— Indians then in possession— Johnston and Pattie return 
to No. 4 — A tragic end — Capt. Hazen comes to Cohos in ITKi with men and 
material for saw-nilU and grist-mill — Leading position — Death— Moses Hazen 
and John Hazen confounded — William Hazen-Joshua Howard-Jesse Harriman 
— Simeon Stevens— Thomas Johnson— Col. Timothy Bedel and family — Capt. 
John Page and family — First Marriage— First Family — First Birth — First Death 
—Morse Meadow. 

In the early settlement of the Cohos Country there were 
two men of remarkable energy and force of character. 
They were men of large experience in those stormy times, 
and occupied prominent positions in the communities where 
they lived. One was Jacob Bailey of Newbury, Mass., 
and the other was John Hazen of Haverhill, Mass. Both 
had taken a leading part in the French and Indian war, 
and were in excellent favor with those in authority. Their 
gallant and brave services in the war which had just closed, 
would naturally give them special claim to consideration, 
and when the tide of emiofration set into the Connecticut 
Valley, these men directed their energies to the Cohos 
Country, and took early steps for occupancy and possession. 
They worked in harmony. Capt. Hazen was the first to 
send forward men who took possession of the east side of 
the Connecticut river in the summer of 1761, two years 
before a charter of the Town was granted. No doubt there 
was a good understanding between these leaders and the 
authorities at Portsmouth in reference to the occupancy of 
this part of the Connecticut valley. The names of Hazen 
and Bailey stand at the head of the list of grantees of the 
Township of Haverhill. 

The men whom Capt. Hazen sent into the Cohos Country 
in the early summer of 1761, were Michael Johnston 
and JoNN Pattie, both from Haverhill, Mass. Thev were 



EARLY .SETTLKliS. 43 

the first wliite persons who set ])ernianent foot on the soil of 
ILiverliill. They came first to Xo. 4 and then up the Con- 
necticut river, and hrouoht with them some cattle. Before 
the winter set in they built for themselves and their cattle 
shelters at Ox Bow where they found clear intervals, as 
Capt. Powers seven years before had stated in his Journal 
when he and his party passed through the country. This 
cleared land which at some time had been cultivated by the 
Indians in raising corn, was now covered with a heavy 
jirowth of grass which the two white occuijants gathered in 
the tall and fed to their cattle during the winter. Indians 
were then dwellinn; on these intervals, but thev were friendly 
and made no op[)Osition or threatening protests to the occu- 
pancy of these lands by strangers, as they had done in 1752 
when; preparations Avere made at that date to take possession 
of the country. 

Johnston and Pattie after their long winter in the wilder- 
ness, embarked in a canoe on the Connecticut river in the 
early summer with the intention of returning to No. 4 and 
their friends. In their journey they met with a sad accident. 
A little above the mouth of White river, in an angry plunge 
of the Connecticut over rocks at a point afterwards known 
as Olcott Falls, the canoe was capsized and the two voyagers 
were thrown into the water, Johnston losing his life. The 
body was washed ashore on an island just below the Falls 
where it was found soon after by a stranger coming up the 
river, and by whom it was buried in the sand. The island 
now bears the name of Johnston's Island. Pattie escaped 
the fate of his companion by superior skill in swimming, and 
afterwards reached No. 4 in safety. Of his after history 
nothino; is known. Michael Johnston was a brother of the 
distinjjuished Col. Charles Johnston who a few vears after- 
wards came to Haverhill, and took a prominent part in the 
affairs of the Town. 

In the spring of ITGi Capt. Ilazen joined Johnston and 



44 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Pattie with a new force of men, and with material for build- 
ing a grist mill and a saw mill which he erected on Poole 
Brook, on the site where afterwards stood the Swasey mill. 

JoHX Hazen was born in 1731, his fiitlier's name being: 
Moses Plazen, and his mother's Abigail White of Haverhill, 
Mass. He was a man of great force of character and full 
energy and enterprise. The Township of Haverhill was 
granted to him and seventy-four others. By the charter he 
w^as intrusted Avith the duty of Avarning the first Town meet- 
ing, and he was also named in tlie charter to be the first 
moderator. He was also moderator of the first Proprietors' 
meeting. In Town affairs he took a foremost part, and held 
various positions of trust, serving either as moderator, 
selectman. Town-clerk during his residence in the Town. 

Previous to coming to Haverhill he was active, it is said, 
in the settlement of the town of Hampstead, and at one- 
time he was a citizen of Plaistow, from whicli town he was 
enrolled in the New Hampshire militia. He was a brave 
and gallant soldier in the French and Indian war, and 
faced many dangers and saw hard service in the Canadian 
expedition especially before the walls of Quebec. He held 
a Lieutenant's commission in Col. Meserve's regiment in 
the expedition against Crown Point in 1757, and a Cap- 
tain's commission in Col. Hart's regiment in 1758. He 
also had a like rank in 17(50 in Col. Goff's regiment for 
the invasion of C-anada. 

At the close of the war he returned to Haverhill, Mass., 
and soon after undertook with others the settlement of the 
Cohos Country. He was a large land-owner in Haverhill, 
and built as above stated the first saw-mill and grist-mill in 
the Town. 

Capt. Hazen's leading position in the early settlement 
of the Town is indicated in tiie fact that he was allowed to 
select meadow lots Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, in Ox Bow, and 
house lots Nos. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35. ^lill privileges were 



KAULY SETTLEUS. 45 

reserved for tlie use of the Pro})rietors. All other persons 
were required to draw for- their lots. 

Capt. Hazen's name which appears repeatedly hoth in 
the Town and Proprietors' records till 1773, suddenly 
disappears after that date, and he is supposed to have died 
about that time. No record is found of his death or burial, 
but he was undoubtedly buried in the fi^ra\e-yard at Ox 
Bow. No stone marks the resting-place of the founder of 
the Town. John Hazen and Moses Hazen have been con- 
founded. The latter Avas a gallant officer of high rank 
in the Revolutionary War. Capt. Hazen married .Vnne, 
daughter of John Swett of Haverhill, Mass., whose name 
appears amongst the grantees of Haverhill, N. H. She 
■died in 1765. They had four children, Sarah, John, and 
two who died in early life. John went with his imcle 
William to New Brunswick, and married Priscilla, daughter 
of Dr. William McKinstry, and had a numerous family. 
Sarah became the wife of ]VIaj. Nathaniel Merrill, and was 
the mother of a fjimily of twelve children, eleven of whom 
were daughters. Capt, Hazen married a second time, — a 
daughter of Kev. Josiah Cotten, — and she after Capt. 
Hazen's death, became the wife of Henry Hancock of 
Lyman. This fact determines the date of Cajjt. Hazen's 
death a})})ro\imatcly. Ih^ was supposed to be a man of 
large property, but it is said after his estate was settled 
there were only $12 left, which were given to his daughter 
Sarah, and with this money she bought a large family Bible 
that is now in possession of Benjamin Hibbard of Piermont. 

Capt. Hazen was a man of great courage. One Oliver 
^^'illard according to Powers, undertook to thwart his plans 
in regard to the grant of Haverhill, and for this purpose he 
sent some men to take possession of the territory. But 
Hazen had anticipated them, and being in excellent favor 
with the jrovernor of the Pi()\ ince, and having as his allv 
Gen. Jacob Bailey, a brave and resolute man, he had little 



46 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

difficulty in gaining a complete victory over his rival. 
Willard was furions at his discomfiture, and threatened to 
take vengeance upon his opponent if he ever caught him 
outside the settlement. The parties soon after met at No. 
4 when the attem])t was made to carry out the threat, but 
the doughty Captain it is said was more than a match for 
his rash assailant. 

William, brother of John and ]\Ioses Hazen, was a 
proj^rietor in the original grant of the Town. He went 
early to New Brimswick, and had a family of sixteen child- 
ren, several of whom became connected by marriage with 
some of the first families of the Province, and some held 
high official positions. 

Joshua Howard. — Of those who came with Capt. 
Ilazen in the s])ring of 17()2 to put up his mills and begin 
the settlement of the Cohos Country several afterwards became 
prominent. (^ne of these was Joshua Howard, a young 
man from Haverhill, Mass., wlio lived to the very advanced 
age of 99, dying in 1839. He was one of the grantees of 
Newbury, Vt., and was a townsman of Hazen's in Massa- 
chusetts. With two others he was the first person that came 
direct from Salisbury to Cohos, the usual route being by the 
way of No 4. This was in April, 17(52. His companions 
were Jesse Harriman and Simeon Stevens, with an old 
hunter as guide who led them through the wilderness. They 
accomplished the journey in four days, travelling up Baker's 
river and crossing the height of land into what afterwards 
became the town of Coventry, now Benton, thence followed 
down the Oliverian. They Avere probably the advance force 
of the men whom Ca])t. Hazen brought to Cohos as already 
stated. 

Col. Howard lived for some time on an island in the Con- 
necticut river which bears his name. At one time he kept a 
hotel where the County Poor House now stands. He was a 
leading man in the community in his day. In 1787 he was 



EARLY SETTLERS. 47 

one of the selectmen of the Town with Charles fJohnston 
and Ezekiel Ladd. He was also on the committee of safety 
for the Town in 177(1, and served as a lieutenant in a com- 
pany of rangers in the Kevolution. AVhen the Union C\m- 
vention met fit Windsor, Aermont, for the purpose of 
organizing a state government that should include towns on 
both sides of the Connecticut river, Col. Howard was a 
representative from Haverhill in that convention. Little is 
known of his family. The oldest son, Joshua, died at the 
homestead on Howard's Island. Benjamin went to Ohio, 
and a younger son, Rice, was a sporting man, and spent 
much of his time away from home, chiefly in the South. 
Col. Howard was a man of intelligence, energy, and strict 
integrity, and in religious sentiment would be called a 
Universalist. 

Jaasiel Harrimax, one of Howard's companions, came 
from Haverhill, Mass. He was commonly called " Jesse," 
and was a grantee of Haverhill, Bath, and Newbury. He 
remained in Haverhill only a few years and then moved to 
Bath. His was the first family that settled in that town. 
A daughtci-, Nancy, married Jesse Carleton aud afterward 
lived in Haverhill. She was the grandmother of Chester M. 
Carleton. 

SoiEOX Stevens, another of Howard's men, is probably 
the same jierson as Simon Stevens whose name appears as 
one of the grantees of Haverhill. A Simeon Stevens was 
also a grantee of Newbury. Simeon Stevens was a captain 
in Col. Bedel's regiment in 1778. The Stevens family be- 
came quite prominent in Piermont in later days. 

Two other persons appear in company with Cai>t. Hazen 
in the early settlement of Haverhill, and afterward became 
conspicuous in the history of Cohos. One of these was 
Thomas Johnson, a young man in the service of Gen. 
Bailey. He first lived in Haverhill for a short period, and 
then ])urchased land in Newbury and became a citizen of 



48 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

that town. The name of Johnson is found in the list of 
Newbury grantees. Col. Johnson was an ardent patriot 
during the Revolutionary War, and made himself very 
obnoxious to the British authorities on that account. He 
was at the taking of Ticonderoga, and acted as aid to Gen. 
Lincoln. Afterward in 1781 he was taken prisoner at 
Peacham, Vt., by a party of British soldiers and carried to 
Canada, but was allowed to return on parol to Newbury at 
the end of seven or eight months. 

Timothy Bedel was the other person. He was from 
Salem, and after remaining in the employ of Capt. Hazen 
for a year or two, he moved his family to the newly organi- 
zed Town, and settled on Poole brook. He and his family 
were a valuable accession to the population, and added to 
the substantial character of the new settlement. Col. 
Bedel was one of the original Proprietors of Haverhill and 
iilso of Bath, and was a man of large influence and promi- 
nence in the Town. Previous to the Revolution he lived 
for a short time in Bath. In ITTT) he was a member of 
the Provincial C^ongress of New Hampshire, which met at 
Exeter, but at the breaking out of the War of the Revolu- 
tion, he entered the military service, first as captain of a 
company of rangers, and afterwards as colonel of a regi- 
ment. Durinfj the lono- stiuffo:le he raised several regi- 
nients, one of which he led to Canada in 1776 in the army 
of Gen. Schuyler when that officer made the attack on 
Montreal. In this campaign Col. Bedel's regiment which 
was stationed at a place called " the Cedars," disgracefully 
surrendered to the enemy, and Col. Bedel suffered much in 
reputation ; but subsequent revelation of the facts in the 
case completely exonerated him, as at the time he Avas on 
his way to Montreal for reinforcements, and his regiment 
-was in command of Maj. Butterfield. The pay-roll of his 
regiment for 177(5 is now in possessionof his grandson, 
Hon. Hazen Bedel of Colebrook. He was also in the armv 



EARLY SETTLERS. 49 

of Gen. Gates at the battle of Saratoga when Gen. Hiir- 
goyne and his army were captured. 

The first regiment Col. l^edel raised was fur the defence of 
the Cohos Country in 1775. This was a body of rangers. 
Afterwards, in 1777, he was in command of a regiment for 
service in the Cohos Country and for the defence of the 
western frontier on the Upper Connecticut river. He also 
raised a regiment in 1778 for a like service when the time of 
the regiment of 1777 had expired, and he was for most of 
the time, after his return from Canada till the close of the 
war, in command of troops stationed in the Cohos Country 
and vicinity. After the Revolutionary War he was a{)pointed 
Major-General of the Second Division of New Hampshire 
Militia. 

He was a man of large endowment and great force of 
character, and was admirably fitted to be a leader of men in 
stirring times. A purer patriot did not engage in the Kevo- 
lutionary struggle. He took a prominent part in the early 
history of Haverhill, in the development of its resources and 
in the advancement of its prosperity, and was a valuable 
citizen of the Town. He was repeatedly called by his fellow 
men to various trusts of honor and responsibility in Town 
affairs. 

Col. Bedel had a family of six children, of whom Gen. 
INIoody Bedel was the oldest and most distinguished. One 
daughter, Euth, married Jacob Bailey, son of Gen. Jjicob 
Bailey of Newbury, Vermont. Anna became the second 
wife of Samuel Brooks of Haverhill ; her first husband was 
Dr. Thaddeus Butler. Another was married to Dr. Isaac 
Moore. Drs. Butler and ]\Ioore were early physicians of 
Haverhill. Col. Bedel died in 1787. 

Gen. Moody Bedel was born in 1764, and like his father 
was a very prominent citizen of Haverhill. He was married 
twice, first to Ruth Hutchins, and they had a family of nine 
children, all of whom are now dead, but the descendants of 



50 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

some of these are numerous in the northern section of the 
state. For his second wife he married Mary Hunt of Bath, 
and hy this marriage there were also nine children, some of 
whom are still living. Moody resides in Peoria, 111., and 
Louisa is the wife of Warren J. Fisher of Haverhill ; Hazen 
and John Bedel (see Chap. XIX.) ; and Maria L. married 
Rufus Dow. Their son, Charles Dow, was in the AVar of 
the Rebellion, and now lives in Portage City, Mich., where 
he is post-master. 

Gen Bedel lived at one time in the old toll house at the 
foot of Powder House Hill, and also in a small brick house 
half way up the hill near the old brick yard. He was a man 
of excellent education. At the age of twelve he was present 
with his father, Col. Timothy Bedel, at the battle of Sara- 
toga, and later he enlisted as a private in Capt. Ezekiel 
Ladd's company in his father's regiment. When the War of 
1812 broke out he commanded the Sixth Brigade of New 
Hampshire ^Militia, and was put in charge of the " District 
of New Hampshire for recruiting." Afterwards he was 
Lieutenant-Colonel of the 11th Regiment U? S. Infantry 
and was stationed at Burlington, Vt., and Plattsburg, N. Y., 
but for much of the time, contrary to his wishes, he was kept 
on detached duty on account of his great executive ability. 
In the memorable sortie at Fort Erie he led his regiment 
with conspicuous gallantry and success against the British 
forces, and for his bravery on that occasion he was promoted 
to be Colonel of the regiment. 

At one time he was the possessor of a large property, 
owning not only some of the best meadows on the Connecti- 
cut river in Haverhill, but also larn-e real estate in Bath, in 
Burlington, Vt., and in^ Plattsburg N. Y. He with others 
as early as 1798 purchased from the St. Francis Indians an 
immense tract of land in northern Xew Hampshire known as 
the " Philip Grant," from the fact that an Indian called 
"King Philip" signed the deed. They began a settlement 



EARLY SETTLERS. 51 

called the " Indian Stream Settlement," but the War of 
1812 called Gen. Bedel away. After the close of the war 
he returned to the settlement, but the leo;islature throun:h the 
influence of speculators refused to confirm the " King' 
Philip " title, and he became greatly embarrassed, dying in 
1841 a poor man, '•'• owning," as one who knew him well 
says, " not an inch of" land." " Gen. Bedel," says the 
Adjutant Generafs Report, " had faced the camion's mouth 
at the ' Sortie of Erie,' but he could not successfully face the 
speculators and interested parties about the legislature." 

Whilst Gen. Bedel lived at Pittsburg he and his family 
endured many hardships. The mother with three of the 
youngest children returned to Haverhill, and after suffering 
much privation, the family was once more united in one 
home in Bath. 

Gen. Bedel was one of the foremost citizens in Haverhill, 
and took an active and leading part in tlie affairs of the 
Town. He was distinguished for his enterprise, liberality, 
and ability. The first bridge across the Connecticut river at 
South Newbury was built by him, and the present bridge is 
known as " liedefs Bridge." He also built a large brick 
building at the Brook which was afterwards used as a tavern. 

JoHX Page came to Cohos in the early fall of 1762, and 
l)rouglit with him only an ax and a small bundle of clothes. 
But he had what was more than gold, — courage and industry. 
He boufjlit a tract of land Avhich has remained in the Pagre 
family to the present time. 

The first winter he was in the employ of (Jen. Bailey at 
the (ireat Ox Bow in Xewbiny and continued in his service 
imtil he coidd })ay for his tract of land. His first house was 
built of logs on a knoll on the meadows, which is still 
jtointed out. The house and barn were afterwards burnt, 
and he built the frame house in which he lived to the close of 
his life. The house is now owned and occupied by Mrs. 



52 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

John Webster, and has been much changed from its original 
style and form. 

The following memoranda, copied from the old family- 
Bible of Capt. Page, give the exact facts of his early 
history : 

John Page born in Lunenburg, Mass., 1741, and moved with his 
father's family to Rindge, N. H., and helped to get a log house built, 
and performed *' sutler's duty " and thereby got a lot of land in said 
Eindge. He came to Coos meadows in September, 1762, wintered in 
the Great Ox Bow, took the charge of Gen. Bailej^'s cattle with one 
other man and boj% worked for Gen. Bailej^ and paid for a right of 
land in Haverhill, went to the Upper Coos [Lancaster], worked for 
his uncle David Page, and paid for another right in Haverhill. Came 
back to Haverhill, built a log house on the meadow, married Abigail 
Sanders, daughter of Master Sanders of Haverhill, lived with her 
about twelve years. She died of consumption, without children.* 
Married a second wife, Abigail Hazeltiue of Concord, N. H., out of a 
good family, and an excellent woman, who died in child-bed of her. 
first-born who also died, and both were buried in the same grave. 
Married a third wife, widow Hannah Green, daughter of Kev. Samuel 
Elce of Landaff", unto whom were born four sons, viz., John, William 
G., Samuel, and Stephen R. 

Capt. Page belonged to a numerous fiimily. Two of his 
brothers older tlian himself lost their lives at the taking of 
Louisburg in the French War. He was a man of medium 
height, but powerfully built. He lived on friendly terms 
Avith the Indians of Cohos, over whom he seems to have had 
very great influence. When they were going to have a 
" high time " on " fire-water," they would put their weapons 
in his hands, so as to avoid the danger of hurting each other 
in their drunken revelries. They had the highest opinion of 
his })hysical strength and prowess which were taught them 
by an incident that illustrates his keen mother-wit. On 
one occasion when he was cuttinsr wood the Indians chal- 



* The marriage of John Page and Abigail Sanders is the first mar- 
riage recorded in the Town records, and occurred Dec. 18, 1766. 
James Woodward and Hannah Clark were married Dec. 30, 1766, 
according to Town records, and were not, as Grant Powers says, the 
first couple that were joined in wedlock at Cohos. 



EARLY SETTLERS. 53 

lenf;ecl him to a trial of strength which he declined, but 
shrewdly waiting his opportunity he cut off' a log aa large as 
he could lift at one end, and then j)romptly and with appar- 
ent ease placed one end against his breast. Then he chal- 
lenged any one of them to raise the other end, which of 
course none were able to do. Their untutored minds did 
not understand that to raise the end on the ground whilst 
the other was resting against his breast was equivalent ta 
lifting the weight of the entire log. It is said he could lay 
his hand on the back of one of his yoke of oxen and vault 
over both at a single leaj). 

Mrs. Edward L. Page who owns and lives on the old 
Page homestead has in her possession the gun which Capt. 
Page used for protection the first winter he spent in the 
Cohos Country. Originally it was about six feet in length, 
but is now a little shorter, the barrel having been cut oft 
several inches, and a cap-lock has taken the place of the 
old flint-lock. Mrs. Page has also in her possession four 
silver spoons which came into the Pago family through Mrs. 
Hannah Green at the time of her marriage to Capt. Page. 
They are desert-size, and are said to have been made from 
some French coin and bear the initials W. G. H. — the 
(r. stands for Green, the sur-namc of her first husband, the 
W. for William, his Christian nauu', and II. for Hannah 
her own Christian name. 

A\'hat little is known of Mrs. Hannah Green Page 
distinguishes her as a woman of great su{)eriority of mind 
and character. Her influence in moulding the moral and 
intellectual bent and habits of her children was an important 
factor in their training, and left its impress upon their lives 
and cliaracter. " In the early history of Haverhill,'" writes 
a worthy descendant of the family, " I think my grand- 
mother Page was a very im[)ortant member of that family, 
and a very bright woman, exceedingly smart and energetic. 
Her house, I have heard my father say, was the house of 



54 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

the educated people of those times. Her father was the 
Rev. Samuel Rice, and I believe the education and advan- 
tages which her sons received were achieved mainly through 
her influence and exertion." In religious belief she was a 
Baptist, and a woman of great exemplariness of life. 

Of Capt. Page's children two died in earl}' life, John 
and Samuel lived tO a jjood and honored old ai;:e. John 
attended school regularly in his early years, but at the 
age of fifteen his education was interrupted, and he was 
compelled to relinquish it. This was owing to the financial 
embarrassment of his father, and it was a great disappoint- 
ment to the son, though he cheerfully aided his father in 
redeeming the homestead from debt. He became a promi- 
nent citizen in town and state, and held many places of 
trust and honor, selectman, representative, register of deeds, 
<?ouncillor, United States senator to fill ex-Gov. Hill's 
luiexpired term, and governor in 183S)-41. Gov. Page 
Avas engaged chiefly in farming, and took an active [)art in 
securing the building of the Boston, Concord & Montreal 
Railroad. He married a daughter of jMaj. Nathaniel 
Merrill, and they had a family of nine children. In the 
War of 1812 he held a Lieutenant's commission, and served 
ii short period on the northern frontier of Xew Hampshire. 
He was strongly attached to the Methodist church, and at 
his death he bequeathed the sum of $1000 for the use of 
the church at Haverhill Corner. Gov. Page died in 18(J5. 

John A., second son of (jov. Page, (see Chap. XIX.) 
Several of the sons moved to the West. Nathaniel M. 
lives in Haverhill where the old Towle tavern stood. He 
is the only representative in Haverhill of the Gov. Page 
family. Edward L. lived till his death on the old home- 
stead, and was a man of bright mind and of pleasing man- 
ners. He died of consumption. 

The only daughter, Sarah H., married Dr. Dickey of 
Jjvme, who died a few years ago. She was a woman of 



EARLY sp:ttleks. 55 

most noble and generous character, and an unselfish and 
devoted Christian. A younn; man from I^yme, a meml)er 
of Dartmouth College, who was trying to work his way 
along, got discouraged and finally concluded he would quit 
school. ^Irs. Dickey heard of the case and sent for the 
discouraged student. " »Tohn," she said, " I learn you 
intend to quit college. AVhat is the reason?" " I have no 
money." " We have concluded that it is our duty to let 
you have what you need." The young man went thiough 
college, and is now a most useful man, liaving taught w ith 
distinguished success for seventeen years in a western city. 

Samuel Page, brother of Gov. Page, was born in 17'J3, 
and lived and died in Haverhill. He was married twice. 
His first wife was a daughter of Maj. Nathaniel Merrill, and 
by this marriage there was one child, Louisa M., now Mrs. 
Babcock, (see Chap. XIX.) His second wife was Eliza 
Swasey, daughter of Obadiah Swasey of Xorth Haverhill. 
They had a numerous family. William H., the oldest, has 
always been a citizen of Ha\erhill, with the exccj)tion of a 
few years when he lived in Piermont. He is a man of excel- 
lent business judgment, and has been very successful both as 
a farmer and as a merchant. He is now the senior member 
of the firm of W. H. Page & Son, which does a large 
general merchantile business. Mr. Page is one of the first 
citizens of the Town, thougli he has never taken a very 
prominent part in public matters. Whilst living in Pier- 
mont he re[)resented that town for four years in the legisla- 
ture, and was a member of the conunittee on finances. He 
is a deacon in the Conirregrational church. His wife was 
Mary E. Poor of Piermont, and they have two sons, Charles 
P. and Fred W., the former in business with his father. 

Of Samuel Page's other children, Elizabeth, a large- 
hearted and intelligent woman, married Jonathan S, Nichols, 
and Samuel lives on the old homestead. Harriet marriid 
Simeon C. Senter of Thetford, and is a woman of superior 



56 HISTORY or HAVERHILL. 

Christian character. One of the daughters, Josephine, 
resides in Kansas. Hannah, who became Mrs. Bowen, 
died a few years after her marriage, and Ellen who married 
Milo Bailey, is also deceased. Mary, a lady of attractive 
manners, makes Haverhill her more permanent home. The 
youngest daughter, Emily, is the wife of Rev. C. N. Flan- 
ders of Newport. The youngest son, Moses S., (see Chap. 
XIX.) 

Mr. Samuel Page was a man of sterling integrity and 
pure character, unostentatious, and of plain manners. He 
represented the Town in the legislature, and served a number 
of years in the board of selectnien. He and Mrs. Page died 
in 1877, only a day or two apart, and were biu'ied at the 
same time. 

The first family that came to Cohos was Uriah Morse and 
his wife, in June, 17H2. They were from Northfield, Mass., 
and settled near the mouth of Poole brook. It was with 
Uriah and his wife that Capt. Hazen and his men boarded in 
that year, and their house may be considered the first tavern 
in the new settlement, as it was the stopj)ing-place for 
strangers Avho came to Cohos. At this house in the spring 
of 17(53 the first English child was born, but the little 
stranger survived its advent only a few days. Here also 
occurred the first death in the new settlement. It was that 
of a Miss of eighteen summers, and it would seem that 
Polly Harriman had made a very favorable impression on 
the sturdy pioneers of the Town, as her name comes down to 
us in this fragrant eulogy : " her death was nuich lamented," 
a memorial worth more than granite shaft. " Morse 
meadow " got its name from that of Uriah Morse, who also 
at a Proprietors' meeting in 1703 was allowed to have 
"pitch" No. 1 in that meadow. This was probably due 
to the double fact, — first, being the head of the earliest 
family in the new settlement, and second, because he made 
himself esj)ecially valuable in boarding Capt. Hazen's men. 



CIIAPTEK \ I. 

EAKLY SETTLERS AFTER THE CHARTER. 

Character and energy of the men— Their training and education— Raind settlement; 
— Jesse Johns<in — John White— James Bailey — Elisha Lock— Johathan Sanders 
— James Woodward— Uriah Stone — Jonathan Elkius— John Taplin — Ezekiel 
Ladil— iNIoses Little— Ilaywards— Timothy Barron— .James Abbott— William 
Eastman— John Iliird— Max! Hazeltine— Joseph Ilutehins— Simeon Goodwin 
Jonathan Hale — Thomas Simpson — Ephraim Wesson— Charles Johnston— Asa 
Porter — William Porter — Andrew S. Crocker — Nathaniel Merrill— William 
Merrill—Joseph Peai-son— Samuel Brooks— The Morses— Joseph Bliss— Joshua 
Y(»ung— Amos Ivimliall— Williahi Cross — John Osgood — The CaiTs— The Swans 
— Obailiah Swasey — Moor Kussell — The Gookins — Asa Boynton — John Mont- 
gomery— Ross Coon— Glazier Wheeler — I'arker Stevens— William Tarleton. 

After the charter of Haverhill was granted to Capt. 
Hazen and his associates, settlers poured into the territory, 
and those who came were generally young and enterprising 
men. In this as in a former chaj)tcr I shall note such of the 
more prominent in regard to whom anything of j)uhlic 
interest can be learned. Of some only the name is j)rcserved, 
whilst of others a few facts or traditions haAC floated down 
on the tide of the years to tell their life and ciiaracter. As 
a class, the early settlers were picked men whom ambition or 
love of achievement brought into the new settlement. They 
were l)rave and sturdy men and Avomen, not afraid to 
encounter liard labor and vexatious delays in their endeavor 
to found new and prosperous homes. The opening was one 
of the most inviting and promising in all the Connecticut 
valley, so that the C'ohos wilderness was ra])idly settled.* 

The sketches are given, as far as can be learned, in the 
order of time when these earlier settlers came into the Town. 

Jesse Johnson has the honor of standing at the head of 
the list of town-clerks. He was chosen to tiiat office in 
Plaistow, June 18, ITGB. His name aj)pears in the list of 
Newbury grantees. 



*The population a"S early as 17(57 was 172 persons, — 09 males, 73 fe- 
males, 3 slaves, no widows, and only one person over (Kl years of age. 



58 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

John White was the first sekctman in 17G8, and was 
a grantee of the Town. He served as First Lieutenant in 
Col. Bedel's regiment in tlie Revolutionary War. 

Ja^ies Bailey was also a selectman in the first board, 
and took a very active and prominent part in the afiairs of 
the Cohos settlement. In 1763 he was one of the committee 
to " bound out " the Town. He was the first treasurer 
of the Town, and often aided in various positions in the 
management of Town matters. In the French and Indian 
War he was a brave and energetic officer, and held the rank 
of major. He also took an active pai't in tlie llevolutionarv 
struggle, having charge of several scouting pai'ties tliat were 
sent out from Haverhill in the early ])art of the war. In 
1777 he was a member of the Provincial Congress at Exeter, 
and with Col. Johnston and others he served as committee of 
safety, and of correspondence for Haverhill.* In the Pro- 
prietors' records he is styled "James Bailey, Esq." Soon 
after the Revolution he removed to Newbury, Vt. 

Elisha Lock was one of the pioneer business men of 
Haverhill, who early began to develope the I'esourccs of the 
Town. He built and owned mills at the Oliverian falls, and 
was associated in these enterprises with Col. Timothy Bedel. 
He was moderator in 1765, and also served as selectman and 
town-clerk. The records show that he was not a skilled 
penman, but he was a man of enterprise and energy, and 
exerted much influence in business matters. 

Jonathan 8andp:rs came from IIamj)ton in 17(i3, and 
settled on a tract which in after years was the late Sanuicl 
Page place. His was the first settlement south of Capt. John 
Page's. Mr. Sanders like his neighbor Eastman was 
greatly annoyed by the long controversy between the Town 
and Piermont in regard to the disputed boundary. He 



* These coainiittees were chosen in many of the towns, one for 
purposes of safety, and the other to gather information concerning 
the situation of things during the period of tlie Kevolution. 



EARLY SETTLEKS — CONTIMEI). 59 

i^crved in the lioard of selectmen in 17GG. One of" his 
daughters became the wife of Capt. John Page, and another 
married a Mr. Fifield, and was the maternal grandniothcr of 
Dca. Grove S. Stevens. Two of Mr. Sander's sons enlisted 
in the lievolutionary War. Mrs. Ethan Brock is a descend- 
ant of Jonathan Sanders. 

James AVoodwawd also came in 17 08 at the age of 
twentv-two, and was for a long term of years a very promi- 
nent citizen of the Town. He was from Ilampstead. I lis 
first house was built on the meadow near the river, and the 
foundations or stones which formed the foundations and 
chimney, are still visible at low water, the bank of the river 
having been carried away in flood-time in the course of years 
of abrasion. The great flood of 1771 drove him back upon 
the hiiiii "-round where he built his second house. This 
house or part of it is still standing, and is the second north 
of James Woodward's present residence, and is known as 
the old Judge AVoodward place. For several years he lived 
alone in his primative house on the river's bank, clearing 
away the trees and walking to what afterwards became the 
Dow farm where he took his meals. This, however, grew 
monotonous in time, and the young pioneer looked about for 
a companion to share with him his home. ^Marriageable 
young women were not numerous in those frontier-days, but 
Woodward's opportunity soon presented itself, and he was 
sagacious and brave enough to acce[)t it. 

It was in this wise. A year after Woodward came to 
Haverhill Judge Ladd moved into the same neighborhood, 
and with him was a winsome young Miss whom Judge Ladd 
brought to the new settlement for a purpose of his own. 
Young Woodward in becoming acquainted with the fair new- 
comer also conceived a purpose of his own, which however 
was not the same as that of the Judge's, but which he never- 
theless on suitable occasions aimed to carry out. Hannah 
Clark and the gallant young farmer soon came to a tacit 



60 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

understanding in the matter of their feelings, and the latter 
when this became known to Judge Ladd's family, was given 
to understand that his presence was not as agreeable to them 
as his room. But for " ways that are dark " and tricks that 
were not in vain, the brave vouno; suitor and his bloomiu"; 
love were " too many" for the Ladd household. So on a 
fine afternoon according to previous arrangement, just as the 
sun was in his last hour before setting, Hannah and a friend 
took a walk down the path toward the river, and coming to 
Woodward's little house they quickly turned in, and the 
young lovers were immediately united in marriage by the 
obliging clergyman from Newbury, who with a friend of the 
happy couple were awaiting the arrival of Hannah at that 
point. Immediately after the ceremony Hannah returned to 
her home at Judge Ladd's, and continued in the service of 
the family, whilst the victorious husband kc}»t on toiling at 
his work. But soon the secret got out, and Mrs. Ladd with 
motherly wisdom and kindly feeling told Hannah that she 
might go and live with her husband. So she made haste to 
get to the little house on the river-bank. 

Judge Woodward was married twice. His second wife 
was Elizabeth Pool of Hollis, who lived till 1846. Of his 
lai'ge family, all children of his first wife, one son was a 
physician in Barnstcad, and the other sons were generally 
farmers. Joshua remained on the old homestead, whose son 
James is now living on Ladd Street. 

Judge Woodward was prominent in Town nuitters, holding 
positions of trust and honor, and was the Town's first repre- 
sentative to the legislature. He was appointed one of the 
justices of the Court of Sessions, and held the ofi^ce a 
number of years. He was a man of character and influence, 
and left behind him an honorable record. He died in 182L 

The early setttlers on the meadows when they cleared their 
lands drew or rolled the logs into the river as the easiest way 
to get rid of them. Timber was valueless at that time, and 



EARLY SETTLERS CONTINUED. 61 

burning logs did not seem to be the custom. Samuel Ladd 
had a lot a little away from the river, and spoke to Judge 
Woodward of his perplexity about getting the logs off of his 
ground. The Judge engaged to do the job, and drew the 
logs into hea})s [)reparatory to burning them, but Mr. Ladd 
not understanding the object of piling the logs remonstrated 
Avith liim, and told him that that was not the agreement he 
made. The Judge becoming impatient with Mr. Ladd's 
interference threatened to administer to him some birch bark, 
whereupon Mr. Ladd thinking discretion the better part of 
valor withdrew, and the Judge finished the job. 

Uriah Stone deserves mention not for any inthi- 
ential part he had in the history of the Town, — for he 
moved away too soon for that, — but because of his relation 
to a subsequent prominent historical event. He witii his 
young wife came to Haverhill from Ilampstead in 1763 or 
1764 amongst the first settlers, and built himself a log 
cabin not far from where Bedel's bridge now stands. This 
house was washed away by high water, and L^riali went 
down the river to Piermont and built a log house just west of 
the present Benjamin Hibbard place. He was a German, and 
his original name was Stein, the German word for stone. 
In his youth he was a soldier in the old French War, and he 
is said to have been a man of excellent character and of 
much energy and activity. There were, of course, as yet no 
bridges in those days over the Connecticut, and Uriah Stone 
conceived the plan of running a ferry across the river at his 
place for the acconnnodation of the public. Saw-mills there 
were none near by to cut out the })lank for the boat, but the 
energetic and broad-shouldered German was equal to the 
emergency, and with his own stout hands he hewed the logs 
and built his boat, and here for years promptly answering 
the " Fcrry-Ho," he lived and ferried people across the river 
between Piermont, Haverhill, and Moretown, then the name 
of Bradford. 



62 HISTORY OF IIAVEKHILL. 

He also cleared and cultivated a large farm and carried on 

a tannery. After a few years he built the present Hibbard 

house which is now about a hundred years old. Meantime a 

large family of thirteen grew upon his hands, and the years 

rolling on this sturdy pioneer was carried in 1819 to his last 

resting-place in the old Piermont grave-yard. On the stone 

that marks his grave is one of those quaint inscriptions whicli 

were common a century ago, and Avhich may be foimd in 

many an old grave yard, — 

" You may go home and dry your tears, 
I must lie here till Christ appears." 

Mr. Stone Avas very ingenious and skillful. His wife 
having broken the only sugar bowl she had, and not being 
able to replace it in the new country, her husband carved her 
one from a knot, which is now in possession of a descendant 
of the family, Mrs. A. P. AYebster of Plymouth, and is said 
to be really beautiful in form and workmanship. 

In those earlier days the people depended a good deal on 
wild game for their meat. The forests abounded in deer and 
the streams were alive with fish. One day a deer came 
down to the river on the further bank and quenched its 
thirst, and then })lunging in swam to the opposite sliore just 
in front of Uriah's house within easy reach of the rifle. 
Mrs. Stone Avho had been taught the use of the rifle by her 
husband, put her skill into ])ractice and shot the animal. 
The antlers of the deer are now in possession of the only 
descendant of the Stone family living in Haverhill. 

As illustrating the religious ideas of the times the follow- 
ing incident in the Stone family is given. The Sabbath was 
kept with great strictness, and as the family was rather 
numerous it was necessary to divide the children into two 
sections, each going to church on alternate Sabbaths. Those 
remaining at home were solemnly commanded not to play 
out-doors, nor hunt eggs in the barn, nor pick berries by the 
road-side, and in addition to these prohibitions they were 



EARLY SETTLERS CONTIMEI). 63 

required to commit portions of the catechism to memory. 

l^ut the hours were long in tlie warm days of Sununer, and 

when the children got througli on a certain Sal)l»atli learning 

the parts assigned them, they set themselves to making 

rhymes and parodies on some of the declarations of that 

ancient religious document. They were so highly pleased 

Avith their success in this new departure of life that they 

enthusiastically vociforated the parodies and rhymes in the 

ears of their reverent and devout parents on their return from 

chinvh. This was such a sore grief to their pious hearts 

that thev sent for the minister to come and administer an ap- 

pro[)riate reproof to those yoinig sinners. "J'he good man 

came, and arrayed before him were the wicked rliymesters. 

One by one he read the parodies, but the (piick eyes of the 

little culprits detected a lurking smile in the countenance of 

the benignant dominie, so that when he came to the couplet, — 

" Job felt the rod 
Down bj' t'apo Cod."— 

the ludicrousncss of the thing was too much for even a 
decorous minister of the olden times, and bursting into an 
open laugh he dismissed the transgressors with a gentle 
admonition. 

But to return to the " historical event.*' One of Uriah's 
sons, George Washington, a child of the Kcvolutionary age 
as his name indicates, went to Canada, and a daughter of 
his, Melvina, became the wife of Rev. A\'illiani Arthur, D. 
1). and their son, Chester A. was the late Chester A. 
Artlun-, President of the United States. 

There is still one person in Haverhill who is a lineal 
descendant of Maj. Uriah Stone, — Miss Hattic C. Rogers of 
Court Street, in wdiose possession are the deer antlers above 
mentioned, and she and the late President Arthur were in 
blood second cousins. 

JoxATiiAX Elkixs and family were a valuable ac(|uisi- 
tion to the new settlement. They came from IIam[)stead in 



64 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

17()4, and settled near the Dr. Carleton place. Mr. Elkins 
remained in Town about ten years, and then moved to 
Peacham, Vt. He has been called the "father" of that 
town. His wife, before her marriage, was Elizabeth Rowell 
of Chester. They had a large family, and their son Harvey 
was the first white child born in Peacham. Theirs was also 
the first house which was built in that town. Owinrj to the 
disturbed condition of the Cohos Country, and the dangers 
from Indians during the Revolution, the family was com- 
pelled to move back to Haverhill once or twice. At one 
time Dea. Elkins was a scout or pilot in Col. Bedel's regi- 
ment. He was a man of great excellence of character, 
good judgment, large ability, and influential and prominent 
as a citizen both in Haveriiill and in Peacham. In the 
formation of the Congregational church at Peacham he was 
a prime mover and its first deacon. 

Dea. Elkins' son Jonathan had a prominent career. He 
was captured by the English and Indians in an attack upon 
Peacham in 1781, and carried to Quebec, from whence he 
was taken to England, and with others cast into prison, 
where he remained till near the close of the war, when he 
was exchanged and returned to his native country. Previous 
to his capture he was a scout in Col. Hazen's regiment which 
was stationed along the military road from Haverhill to 
Peacham . 

Col. Elkins after his return from capture lived in Peacham 
till 1836, when he moved to Albion, N. Y. He was 
married twice. His second wife was JNIrs. Eunice 
Stoddard Sprague, the widow of lawyer Sprague of Haver- 
hill, of whom the tradition comes down that she was a 
woman of elegant manners and brilliant mind, and of great 
worth. Of the children by this marriage Henry who mar- 
ried a daughter of Obadiah Swasey of Haverhill, is a 
prominent lumber-merchant of Chicago. A grandson of 
Dea. Elkins went to New Orleans and became very wealthy. 



EARLY SETTLEU>S CONTINUED. 65 

John Taplin was a grantee of Haverhill, and was town- 
•clerk at a special meeting in 1765. He was active in the 
developement of the Tovvn in the first years of its settlement, 
but seems early to have gone to Newbury, Vt., where before 
the Revolution he held oflfioial position under the appointment 
of the Governor of New York which at that time claimed 
jurisdiction over Vermont. During the Revolution he with 
others was involved in a conspiracy to hand the Colxis 
Countrv over to the British. He was a man of standing, 
notwithstanding his sympathy with the royal cause. 

EzEKiEL Ladd moved to the Cohos Country in 1764. 
He and his wife were from Haverhill, Mass., and were 
in comfortable circumstances, with social standing, and 
accustomed to the refinements of life at that day. Mrs. 
Ladd relates that on the first Sabbath after their arrival in 
the new settlement when they went to church at the Ox Bow, 
she and her husband thought it would be only proper that 
they should appear in their best clothes. But the people 
were rather plain in their dress and looked upon the new 
comers as aristocratic, whose presence was studiously avoid- 
ed. Appearing the following Sabbath in a plainer garb, she 
and her hus})and found the people most cordial and sociable. 

Judge Ladd's house was situated on the east side of I^add 
street between the school-house and the Azro Bailey jilace, 
where he lived for fifty years until his death in 1818, dying 
at the age of eighty. He was one of the very earliest 
tavern-keepers in the Town, was also engaged in the tannery 
business, and was a man of prominence in the settlement. 
He served as selectman for a number of years, and was also 
treasurer of the Town and one of the judges of the Court 
of Sessions. 

Judge Ladd's wife was Ruth Hutchins before her marriage, 
and they had a large family. The oldest daughter married 
Joshua Young, and another became the wife of Jacob Bailey 
of Newbury. Ezekiel, Jr., who married Elizabeth Swan, 



6(5 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

was the father of Caroline and of Horatio Xelson Ladd who 
died a few years ago. Moody Ladd lived in a house oppo- 
site Mrs. Azro Bailey's, which afterwards was moved and 
became the kitchen of the Bailey house. 

With Judge Ladd, or soon after, came ^\e of his brothers, 
and later still a sister, all of whom settled on Ladd street. 
Samuel Ladd lived Avhere James Woodward now resides ; 
John Ladd who married into the Eastman family of Xorth 
Haverhill, built the Henry Bailey house; David Ladd lived 
in the Clifford house ; James Ladd lived across the road 
from the Cross house, and «Tonathan Ladd's house Avas the 
old grist-mill house, and is part of the house now occupied 
by Mr. A. W. Lyman. 

Of the eighty or more Ladds whose names come down to 
us, who either moved into Haverhill from Massachusetts, or 
who were born here, not one now remains of that name. 
Miss Caroline and Horatio Xelson Ladd were the last of the 
family in Haverhill. 

Samuel Ladd, mentioned above, had a son Samuel who 
li^ed in a house just south of James Woodward's residence, 
a little back of the large willow Avhich is standing at the 
road-side. Samuel, Jr., was a bright and handsome inn- 
keeper in 1790, and Avas in the early years of widowerhood. 
This willow has a very romantie story connected with it. 
In this same year Dr. J(mathan Arnold of St. Johnsbury, 
who was a lonely bachelor, went to Charlestown to spy out 
a wife, in Avhich mission after some entreaty lie was success- 
ful in winning the heart of Cynthia Hastings, and arrange- 
ments were immediately made fur their marriage and return 
to St. Johnsbury. The journey was made on horse-back, 
and on the morning of their start a roguish cousin of the 
young bride handed her a willow stick with the request that 
she might use it to urge on her horse when his spirits needed 
quickening, and after she got through with it for that pur- 
pose, she might plant it by the door of her second husband. 



EARLY SETTLERS CONTINUED. 67 

The last words were a sly hit at the Doctor's age which was 
considerably above that of" his young bride. The willow 
stick, however, was acce})ted in good part, and the journey 
was begun. On the evening of the second day they arrived 
at Haverhill, and stopped at the inn of Samuel Ladd, Jr., 
for the night. The next morning as they were ready to 
proceed on their way the gallant landlord presented j\Irs. 
Arnold with a new stick, and the old one was left behind. 
After Dr. Arnold and his bride had started out the willow 
stick was planted in the door-yard, and came to be the large 
tree now standing on the site of the Samuel Ladd tavern. 
Dr. Arnold died within a few, years, and his young widow 
on her way to Charlestown to visit her friends, had occasion 
to spend the night in Haverhill at the Ladd tavern. Being- 
invited to make her home at the Ladd inn whenever she had 
occasion to pass that way, she accepted the courteous invita- 
tion, and afterwards became the wife of the friendly young 
landlord, and saw the willow stick which her cousin pre- 
sented to her on the morning of her first marriage, grow to 
be a large tree, and his good natured mock-words turned 
into a prophecy. 

Cynthia Hastings Arnold by her first husband had t\\-o 
children, Lenuiel Hastings and Freelove who came with tiieir 
motlier to Haverhill when she married Sanuiel Ladd, fJr. 
Lemuel Hastings Arnold in after life became prominent in 
Khode Island, and Avas go\ernor of the state and a mcml)cr 
of Congress. Freelove married Xoah Davis of Haverhill, 
and became the mother of tiie distinguished Judge Xoah 
Davis of New York. She was tall and graceful whilst her 
husband was correspondingly short. Both the Arnold 
children were educated at Haverhill Academy. ^^ hen 
Lemuel Hastings Arnold ran for governor of Khode Jshuid, 
one of the points made against him was that he was born in 
Vermont. 

One of Sanuiel Ladd's dauulitcrs bv liis marriaiic with 



68 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Mrs. Arnold became the wife of Jeremiah G. Farman, son 
of Dea. Chester Farman of Haverhill. Another daughter 
whose maiden name was Martha H., now Mrs. M. H. Goss, 
is still living in Waterford, Vt., at the age of 87. 

Moses Little. — A person by this name took an active 
part in the Proprietors' matters. The name also appears 
amongst the grantees of Newbury. Whether the Moses 
Little of Haverhill was the same as the Col. Moses Little 
of Newbury, Mass., a brave officer in the Revolution, is 
not clear but quite probable. Moses Little was one of the 
principle grantees of Littleton and other towns. He pur- 
<;hased the Gov. Wentworth "right" of 500 acres on 
which Woodsville is built, and which remained in the family 
for many years. He was appointed in 1773 one of the first 
justices of the Court of Sessions for Grafton County, but he 
declined the honor on account of " other business out of this 
[New Hampshire] Province." Indeed, it does not appear 
that he was a citizen of Haverhill for any considerable length 
of time. He seems to have been a large land owner. 

The Haywards were active in the early history of the 
Town, Joshua being a selectman. When the Courts were 
established in Haverhill, 1773, he was one of the first jurors. 
He also did honorable service in the Revolutionary struggles, 
and was Major of the 12th Regiment N. H. Militia. Jona- 
than Hayward's name appears as one of a committee of the 
Town called the " committee of inspection," and was 
associated with Col. Charles Johnston and other j)rominent 
citizens. 

Timothy Barrox held a captain's commission in 1775 in 
Col. Bedel's regiment, and took an active part in the Revo- 
lution. He was one of a committee to " see that the results 
of the Continental Congress were observed in Haverhill," 
-and was also on the committee of safety. He served as 
selectman. 

James Abbott was moderator in 1767. He was active 



EARLY SETTLEUS CONTINUED. 69' 

in public matters, and held various positions of trust and 
honor. In 1777 he was appointed one of a eonunittee by the 
Town to confer with similar committees from other towns ins 
reference to the safety of the Cohos region at that time. 
After the Revolution he moved to Groton, Vt., and was one 
of the first settlers in that town. His name appears in the 
Town records of Haverhill as " Dea. Abbott." 

William Eastman came to Haverhill about 1700, and 
lived for a short season on Ladd street. Afterwards he 
moved to Bath. His mother, Harriet Eastman, was carried 
away by the Indians to Canada when they made their attack 
on Haverhill, Mass., in 1GH7, and was kept there three 
years. Her husband found her with a friendly Erench 
family in concealment from the Indians. 

Of AVilliam Eastman's children, Obadiah lived for many 
years in Haverhill, but died in Littleton, and a daughter of 
his, Rebecca, married Nathaniel Rix, a prominent man of 
that town. James purchased the Maj. Merrill farm, and 
lived to be 99 years old. His son Eber came into posses- 
sion of a part of it after his father's death, and still resides 
on it living with II. L. AVoodward wiio now owns the farm.. 
He relates that his father in the early history of the Town 
hunted moose along the Ammonoosuc. Eber's brother Joel 
had an inventive turn of mind. 

Eber Eastman in early life devoted himself to teaching,, 
and for six or eight years was su})erintendent of schools in 
Haverhill. He also represented the Town in the legislature 
in 1848—4, and is at the age of <S4 of bright and (|uick luind,, 
a man of gentle and refined manners, and a most estimable 
citizen. He published some years ago an account of his 
great-grandmother's capture and rescue. He sent the author 
a few years ago the Lord's Prayer as a souvenir, written on 
a card about the size of a postage stamp, in a beautiful 
hand, so fine that it can be read only with glasses, but each 
letter is perfectly formed. 



70 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Four of the sons of Williiim and Rebecca Eastman were 
soldiers in the War of the Revohition. James was the first 
one to bring the news of the surrender of Cornwallis to 
Haverhill, on which occasion Col. Johnston brought out the 
little field piece and fired a salute in honor of the great 
event. Mrs. Geo. E. Eastman and Herbert Eastman of 
North Haverhill are ofreat-ffrandchildren of William and 
Rebecca Eastman. 

John Hukd became a citizen of Haverhill at an early 
period of its settlement, and lived at Horse meadow. He 
came from Portsmouth, and was a man of great prominence 
and infiuence in all this section. Previous to his living in 
Portsmouth he was a lawyer in Boston, and after he moved 
to the former place he became secretary to Gov. Wentworth. 
His name was inserted in several of the charters in this 
vicinity, and the county records show that he was much 
interested in lands in the new country, owning tracts in many 
of the towns of Grafton county. It was through his influ- 
ence that the courts were brought to Haverhill. He acted 
as agent of the Town in the matter, and was to receive 
as compensation for his services if successful a tract of one 
thousand acres in a "square pitch" of unoccupied land. 
Afterwards some difficulty arose, and it would seem that he 
did not receive the full reward of his success in securing the 
courts at Haverhill. This doubtless had something to do 
with his leaving Haverhill, between whose citizens and him- 
self there had sprung up " mutual disaffi?ction." 

Col. Hurd was a man of large public spirit. In 1774 he 
petitioned tiie General Court for aid to complete a road 
*' from the lower country to Haverhill." It would seem that 
before that date a road had been granted, but had not been 
finished. This imfinished road is described in the petition 
as " expensive and dangerous to man and beast, miry, 
rooty, and narrow, with bad pitches." And further it was 



EARLY SETTLEIJS CONTINUED. 71 

"tedious and Imzardous " for tlie judges to travel on to and 
from ITaverhill. 

He took a deep interest in the Kevt)hitionary struo;ole, and 
was in command of a regiment, but on account of j)hysical 
infirmity he was prevented from taking an active part in the 
field, writing: in 1777 to the committee of safetv at Exeter, 
thus: "lam extremely chagrined that my infirm limbs 
will not permit me to share the toils and dangers of the field 
with my countrymen." However, he was an infiuential man 
in advancing the cause of the patriots, and was in constant 
conununication with Gov. Weare, the president of the Pro- 
Aincial Congress of New Hampshire. He had the general 
charge of troops — a sort of war minister — at Cohos, to " fix 
them off" for Canada, and was one of the Town committee 
to direct scouting parties. Whilst a member of the Provin- 
cial Congress he served on various important connnittees, — 
to draft a declaration of independence, to draw a plan for 
the government of New Hampshire, to prescribe an oath for 
the Provincial Congress, — and was a prominent and influen- 
tial member of that body. 

He also held other important official positions. When 
the Court of Sessions was organized he was ajjpointed one 
of the justices of that court, and held that office till 1778. 
He was also Chief Justice of the Court of Conunon l*lcas, 
though this last court, on account of the Revolution, did not 
hold sessions till the close of that struggle. In addition to 
these positions he was county treasurer and the first register 
of deeds for Grafton county, a member of tiie governor's 
council, and receiver of quit rents. 

Col. Hurd went from Haverhill to Boston at the chvse of 
his oflficial term as register of deeds, which was in 1778. 
Nothing is known of his characteristics except what can be 
gathered from his public career. He was a man of 
undoubted ability and great force of character, full of 
energy and enterprise, and exerted a wide influence in the 



72 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

early history of this region. He was noted for his beautiful 
hand-writing, and was a man of culture, having graduated 
from Harvard College in 1747, and received the honorary 
degree of A. M. from Dartmouth College in 1773. 

Of his family nothing is learned except that some of his 
children went to Ohio, and it is a little singular that liev. 
Grant Powers, in his History of the Cohos Country, says 
nothing concerning Col. Hurd except that a valuable cow 
which he brought from Portsmouth to Ha\erhill, by way of 
No. 4, returned safely to her old home in a direct course 
alone through the forest ! 

Maxi Hazeltine was a grantee of Haverhill, and as 
early as 1770 a selectman. He took a prominent jtart in 
Town affairs, and was on a committee whose duty it was to 
" see that the results of the Continental Congress are duly 
observed in that [Haverhill] town." After the Revolution 
he moved to Bath. 

Joseph Hutchins came to Haverhill at an early date, 
and was a selectman for several years. He was also a 
representative of the Town for two terms, and in 1791 his 
name appears in the records with that of Moses Dow as a 
representative for that year. He w:is one of a committee to 
" see that the results of the Continental Congress were 
observed in Plaverhill," and was a member of the committee 
of safety in 1775—6. He also took an active part in the 
Revolutionary War, being in command of a company of 
rangers in 1780. In 1788 he was a delegate to the con- 
vention that ado|)ted the Federal Constitution and voted in 
the negative, and in 1791 he was in the convention to revise 
the constitution of New Hampshire. Of his family nothing 
is learned, and the Hutchins of Bath do not claim iunnediate 
relationship with it. He was evidently a man of affairs, and 
was often associated in public matters with the leading men 
of Haverhill, and the fact that he was a member of the 
convention that adopted the Federal Constitution woidd seem 



EAIU.Y SETTLERS CONTINUED. 73 

to indicate his character and ability and impoitance a8 a 
citizen of the Town. 

Simeon Goodwin's name aj)])ears early in the history of 
Haverhill as a man prominent in affairs. He was repeatedly 
called to posts of responsibility, and was on the committee 
of safety, and on special committees of conference with other 
committees for the protection of the Cohos Country during 
the Revolution. He was also appointed a coroner for Graf- 
ton County. 

Jonathan Hale took an active part in the Revolutionary 
War, and Avas a member of the committee of safety during 
that struffo-le. He with others was also in general charge 
of the scouting parties which were sent out during the 
Revolution from Haverhill. In the great alarm of 1776, 
when the American forces were defeated at Ticonderoga, and 
when it was thought that the enemy would take immediate 
possession of the Cohos Country, Maj. Hale Avas sent to 
Exeter to give tlie alarm and to ask for aid. He also 
secured arms and powder for the Town on several occasions. 

Thomas Simpson was a captain of rangers in the Revo- 
lution, and was prominent in that struggle. He was also 
active in Town affairs, and held positions of trust and honor. 
He was something of a rhetorician. In a petition for a 
pension on account of loss of eye and other wounds, he 
closes his request with these glowing words : "■ That he 
may express in strains of gratitude the lil)erality of that 
country in whose service he had spent the best of his days, 
and in whose defense he more than once shed cheerfully the 
crimson flood of life." Thomas deserved a pension. 

Epiihaim AVesson came to Haverhill some time before 
the Revolution from Pepperell, Mass. He saw nuicli hard 
service in the Old French War. In 17").') he was in the 
exix'ditioii against ( "rown Point, entering the army as a 
lieutenant. Subs{'(|uently he was at the taking of Louis- 
burg and in the attack on Ticonderoua. and scrAcd in all the 



74 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

battles of note at that period. During his residence in 
Haverhill he was a very prominent citizen of the Town, and 
took a leading part in all public affairs. He was called to 
many positions of responsibility, being moderator and select- 
man a number of times. He also was a member of the 
Pro^ incial Congress at Exeter, and a special delegate to that 
body for the procurement of arms for the settlers of Haver- 
hill. In the Revolution he was intimately associated with 
Col. Charles Johnston and others in the stirring events of 
that period, ser^•ing on the conunittees of safety and corre- 
spondence for the Town. At the close of the Revolution 
Capt. Wesson moved to Groton, Vt. His oldest daughter, 
Sally, married Capt. Edmund Morse, and their daughter 
was the first child born in Groton. Capt. Wesson was a 
brave and conscientious officer, and was highly esteemed and 
trusted by his superiors, a man of excellent character and of 
Puritan mould and principles. He died in Groton at the 
advanced age of 93 yeai's. 

Charles Johxstox was undoubtedly the foremost citizen 
of HaAcrhill in point of character, ability, and influence, 
and this too in view of the fact that he had as associates in 
life such marked men as Col. Bedel, Col. Asa Porter, 
Andrew S. Crocker, Esq., Col. John Hurd, Gen. Moses 
Dow, and Alden Sprague, men who woidd have made them- 
selves felt in any community. Pie came to Haverhill in 
1761) and settled at the Corner, and at once took a leading- 
part in all the affairs of the Town. He had a far-seeing 
mind. When felling the trees on the Park which he gave 
to the village, he would tell his wife ;n apparent jest that he 
should have a court house, an academy, and a church front- 
ing on tlic Park, and Haverhill would be a flourishing place, 
all of which came to pass in his day. Haverhill was the 
most noted place north of Concord. 

The good people of Xorth Haverhill may never have 
thought much about it, but it was the fine hand of Col. 



EAHLY .SETTLERS COXTIM EI). <0 

Johnston that hrou<2;ht the court house and jail to the C\jrnei' 
after they had been located at the l*lain for nearly a quarter 
of a century. To this end he with others of the more enter- 
prising citizens of the Corner, erected the old Academy 
buildinjx and offered it free of charge for the use of the 
courts. A\'ith the growing importance of the South End 
ami its easier access, the courts would hardly be disposed to 
decline such an offer, and aceordingly they were held in that 
building, and in its successor after the first one was burnt, 
till the present (Jourt house Avas erected on Court street. 
Meantime a jail was also erected at the Corner. The excel- 
lent water-power of the Oliverian contributed also largely to 
the more rapid building up of the South End, and when the 
Cohos turnpike was conistructcd to IIa\erhill, and stage lines 
centered there, the early glory of the Plain was transferred 
to the Corner. In all this no hand was more influentially 
felt than Col. Johnston's. 

Col. Johnston was the owner of the land on which Haver- 
hill stands, and the land which constitutes the beautiful Park 
around which the village is built, was his gift to the place. 
He also gave the land for the old Court house and that of 
the Academy, evincing not only his generosity and public 
spirit, but also his forethought and faitii in the future of the 
Town. His guiding hand and wise counsels were every- 
where seen. I nited with his confidence tliat Haverhill must 
some day be the center in these n(jrthern limits was the gift 
of a genius to do. He was laborious and persevering in 
pushing on his plans. It was he that led in the building of 
the old Court house and the Academy, and toward the close 
of his life he was a leading sjjirit and one of the incorj)ora- 
tors of the old Cohos turnpike. He was also one of the 
incorporators of the Social Library of Haverhill. In the 
records of the Town his name appears repeatedly on com- 
mittees for carrying out various enterprises. No man was 
80 prominent in Town affairs. No one held more various 



76 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

public positions of honor and responsibility. Twenty-four 
times during his active life he presided in Town meeting. 

His military record is honorable, even conspicuous for 
bravery. At the age of twenty-four he was commissioned 
for the Old French War, and was quarter-master sergeant in 
Col. Gotf's regiment. This was in 1701. Afterwards he 
took an active part in the Revolution. He was Lieutenant- 
Colonel of the 12th Regiment N. H. Militia, and was 
engaged in the battle of Bennington in 1777, in which he 
gained prominence for distinguished bravery. Col. Johnston 
was detailed by Gen. Stark to carry an order from one divi- 
sion of the American forces to another division. In order 
to execute the task he was compelled to pass through a 
woods which was made dangerous by the enemy having his 
scouts there in ambush. Col. Johnston pressed forward 
with only a stout staff which he had cut, when suddenly he 
was commanded to halt by a Hessian officer with drawn 
sword. In an instant the sword was struck from the 
enemy's hand and in Col. Johnston's possession, and point- 
ing it at the Hessian's breast he commanded him and his 
companions to surrender as prisoners of war on peril of 
death. The Hessian ordered his men to throw down their 
arms, which they did, and he and his scouts were led captive 
into the American lines. The sword was brought to Haver- 
hill and presented to his son Capt. Michael Johnston, with 
the re(juest tliat it should descend in the line of the oldest 
male heir. It is now in the possession of Charles Sanfovd 
Johnston of Ovid, N. Y., great-grandson of Col. Johnston. 

The following is a minute description of the sword by one 

of the Johnston descendants, Edward Sanford Burgess of 

Washington, D. C. 

"The sword is adorned with a tassel, silvered and gilded, a brass 
hilt, a silver corded handle with brass attaclnnents; the blade is 
double-edged, and on one side bears the words, Dei Gkatia Dux 
Bkunsv : ET LrxEB : (By the grace of God Duke of Brunswick and 
lAincburg.) These are engraved lengthwise of the sword, and sur- 



EARLY SETTLERS COXTINIEI). 77 

. Tounded by gilt scroll-work, in which appeur casques, banners, 
halberd, a drum, trumpet, spear, etc. A warrior in armor completes 
the upper part of the figure, represented from tlie knees upward, and 
■clad in complete coat of mail, with plumes in the helmet; below, 
toward the hilt, is a crown; below that, an ornamental letter (', fol- 
lowed by scroll-work, under which is engraved transversely and next 
to the hilt the name Jkan Julion. From most of this engraved 
work the gilt has worn out. 

*•' Nearly all of the preceeding figures and ornamentations are 
repeated on the other side, with the following diU'erences : the words, 
A BuuNSVic, are engraved transverselj^ and the motto, Nlnquam 
Eetkorsi'M, longitudinally. The same scroll-work is seen along its 
sides as before, the same warrior above, the same crown below ; in 
place of the letter C is a prancing charger, mane and tail fiying, 
fore-feet rearing. 

''The blade of the sword is about three and a half feet long; it is 
accompanied bj- a leathern scabbard and is provided with a steel tip." 

Had Gen. Stark listened to Col. Johnston, it is claimed 
that the battle of Bennington would liave been more fruitful 
in results than it was. In De Puy's " Ethan Allen and The 
Green oSIountain Heroes," the historian says, " We chased 
them till dark. Col. Johnston of Haverhill wanted to chase 
them all night. Had we done so, we might have mastered 
them all, for they stopped within three miles of the battle- 
field, but Stark saying he would run no risk of spoiling a 
good day's work, ordered a halt, and returned to quarters." 

After the battle of Bennington Col. Johnston returned to 
Haverhill and took no further active part with the armies in 
the field, but he was deeply interested in matters at Cohos, 
which was a point of great importance during the Revolu- 
tionary struggle, and constantly exposed to attack from the 
British forces in Canada. In 1778 we liiid him a[)p()inted 
to the command of two companies of sixty-five men each to 
rendezvous at Haverhill for special service, and in the fol- 
lowing year he commanded two companies of rangers. He 
was also active in the organization and direction of scouting 
parties, and served on various Town committees during these 
stirring years in providing for the safety of Cohos against 



78 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

enemies from within and from witliont, and was untiring and 
patriotic in the service of his country. 

Col. Johnston's civil service in responsible positions 
extended over a number of years. The connnission by 
which he was appointed Judge of Probate for Grafton 
county bears date Xov. 22, 1781, and from then till he was 
disqualified by age, a period of twenty-six years, he held 
that office and faithfully discharged its duties to universal 
satisfaction. He also w^as elected to the office of county 
treasurer in 171*5, and continued to be chosen for many 
vcars without opposition. He was one of a commission 
appointed by the governor to administer the oath of alle- 
o-iance and of office to civil and military officers within the 
county of Grafton. His colleagues on this commission were 
such well known persons as Samuel Livermore, Samuel 
Emerson, Moses Dow, Elisha Payne, and Bezaleel Wood- 
ward. In 1784 he Avas commissioned a justice of peace for 
Grafton county " during good behavior, for the term of five 
years," and this commission was renewed from time to time, 
the last renewal being in 1810, a few years before his death. 
At that time the office of justice of peace was a more impor- 
tant and responsible position than it is now, since the justices 
constituted a court called the Court of Sessions. He was 
also a councillor in 1780-2. 

In addition to these more prominent public duties he took 
an acti\e and foremost part in local matters, holding various 
offices in Town and Church, and serving on various connnit- 
tees, and his wise counsels and influential hand can be traced 
in all the growth and progress of the community. An 
obituary notice of Col. Johnston at the time of his death 
presents his position and character as it was in the commu- 
nity : "A rare assemblage of virtues concentrated in this 
remarkable character. He was a colonel of militia, judge 
of probate, comity treasui-cr. But his principal excellence 
consisted in professing and exemplyfying the religion of 



EARLY SETTLEHS CONTINUED. 79 

Jesus. lie enihraced the gospel in early life, and with 
singular eonstancy observed its precepts as his vu\c of Hfc to 
the end. His liberality to the poor, his hosj)itaiity to 
strangers, and his aid to j)ubli{' institutions, will be long 
remembered among his works of faith and labor of love. 
No death in Coos was ever more sincerely lamented. The 
public feeling was expressed by a very numerous and deeply 
affected audience honoring his funeral with their jjresence on 
an intensely cold day. ^Military officers from the adjacent 
towns on both sides of the river, in their uniforms, formed a 
part of the procession. A sermon was preached by the Kev. 
David Sutherland on the occasion, from the approi)riate 
words of the Psalmist, ' Mark the perfect man and behold 
the upright, for the end of that man is [)eace.' " 

Physically Col. Johnston was a very powerful man. On 
one occasion finding two men in a quarrel he se])arated them, 
but in turn for his kindness they both set upon him. Taking 
them by the shoulders with one hand hand each, he held 
them a[)art, and then bi-ought them violently together, 
handling them as if they were dolls. He was a man of 
great kindness of heart, ever ready to give a helping hand 
to the worthy needy, even though it cost him sacrifice and 
inconvenience. At one time it is said he divided with a very 
poor man and his distressed family his two cows. AVhen 
remonstrated with by Mrs. Johnston who said they could 
not spare the cow, the Cohniel replied that they could do with 
one cow better than the poor man and his needy family could 
do without any, and so the cow was allowed to go. As 
justice of the peace he had occasion to exercise his gift of 
peace-making, and sometimes mounted his horse and rode 
miles to see parties Avho were intent on litigation, and coun- 
seled with them if something could not be done to prevent 
strife amongst neighbors. He w^as a man of large and (juick 
sympathies and generous impulses, united with the best of 
judgment and good sense. Some of his neighbors, not as 



80 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

bountifully endowed with these traits as he was, were annoy- 
ed by the depredations of boys upon their orchards, and 
these depredations were made more frequent from the fact 
that the owners of the orchards were selfish and stingy, and 
if a boy was found looking over the fence at the tempting 
fruit beyond, they were sure to be ordered off with harsh 
and anffry words. Col. Johnston was not troubled in this 
way. When he saw a group of boys near his orchard he 
would walk out and pick uj) a hat-full of the choicest fruit 
and carry it to the fence, and in kind and winning words 
invite the boys to eat all they wished. The boys would take 
the apples with thankful hearts and go away, and whilst 
they wei'e eating the Colonel's apples M'ith many an enthusi- 
astic praise of his kindness and generosity, they were sure 
to lay })lans to raid the orchard of some snarling and stingy 
neighbor. 

In the later years of his life when past labor, he was 
accustomed to walk out in pleasant seasons to the Johnston 
woods for exercise and pastime. A small house by the way- 
side had some beds of bright flowers in front of it, and he 
would stop to admire these and pass a friendly word with the 
good woman of the house. He was social and neighborly, 
and enjoyed life all the more if he saw others in pros[)erity 
and happiness. 

In those days books were scarce, and knowledge derived 
from such sources was not very great, but Col. Johnston 
was a man of much intelligence for the times. He a])])reci- 
ated the value of knowledge, and was foremost in the 
organization of a village library. His contact with the best 
and most intelligent men of the times was large and fre- 
quent, and his official position gave him many advantages 
with persons of culture and experience. He was also better 
trained and equipped by education than the aAcrage person 
of his position in society, and was deemed qualified to take 
the charge of Haverhill Academy for a term during a 



EARLY SETTLKUS — COXTIXUED. HI 

vacancy in the principalship. His hand-writing is a marvel 
of beauty as it stands to-day on the Town and cotnity 
records, and is ahnost as perfect as script. 

Probably no ]):irt of Col. flohnston's character was more 
marked than his religious character. lie was the first 
deacon of the Cony-reuational church at its formation, and 
was a most steadfast friend of all that was good and true. 
His example was a daily call to duty and righteousness. Xo 
man in the community exerted a greater influence as a 
christian. Arovmd his christian character grouped every 
other trait, and shone through this as the light shines through 
a pure atmosphere. The kingdom of God was uppermost 
in his thoughts. From a letter written by his grandson, 
Michael Johnston Gray, dated Rotherham, Eng., Sept. 12, 
1811, where he was studying for the ministry, we learn Col. 
Johnston's deep interest in the cause of christian education : 

" * * * I am glad that the Academy of whicli 

we had thought is likely to be established. * * * 

I hope that by this time you will have procured a charter 
to secure its safety. I am glad that the ministers object 
to its being connected with Dartmouth College. I don't 
think that it would do at all. For my part, I never enter- 
tained the least doubt but that a sufficiency for its support 
might be obtained in America, by subscriptions, donations, 
etc., etc. Christians in America have warm hearts as well 
as christians in England ; and with a little exertion, nay, 
without almost any, I was going to say, the Academy might 
be carried on and prosper. A few pence from each lover of 
Jesus would, I doubt not, be amjjly sufficient. * * "' 

Col. Johnston's letter, to which this is a reply, is unfortu- 
nately not preserved, but from the extract of Mr. Gray's 
letter it would seem that there was a project at that time to 
connect with Hav(!rhill Academy, or enlarge its sco{)e, a 
school for the training of ministers. The endowment of 
this school was one of tlic things to 1)C secured. 



82 niSTOUY OF liAVKinilLL. 

Col. Johnston's name has lingered more distinctly in public 
memory than that of any other man in the Town. He was 
of Scotch origin, and was born in Hampstead in 1737, the 
fifth child of Michael and Mary (Hancock) Johnston. He 
married Kuth Marsh of Londonderry, whom tradition says 
was a person of delicate mould and of womanly diffidence. 
They had a family of eight children, two of whom died in 
early life. Michael was the oldest, and remained on the 
homestead. He was a captain of militia, and served for two 
years as a private in the Revolution. He also held civil 
office in the Town. His wife before her marriage was Sarah 
Atkinson of Boscawen, and of their children Sarah married 
Capt. Stephen Adams ; Charles and Hannah (see Chaj). 
XIX). ]\Iichael succeeded his father on the homestead, 
and married Anna Atkinson of Boscawen ; George AMiite- 
field and a sister, Betsey, married Atkinsons of the same 
place. Hale Atkinson (see Chap. XVII). 

Of Michael Johnston's fiimily, son of Michael, the only 
one living in Haverhill is Kate ]McK. Johnston, a cultivated 
lady and an accomplished singer, as was also her sister, 
]Mary, Avho died a few years ago. A son, Harry A., recently 
deceased, was a man of keen, bright mind and more than 
average intelligence. Edward P. lives in Washington, D. 
C, and is a graduate of Dartmouth" College. The Johnston 
homestead was in the family till within a few years, when it 
passed into the hands of Amos Tarleton who now lives 
on it. 

lluth, one of Col. Johnston's daughters, married Eben- 
ezer Gray, and their son ^Michael (see Chap. XIX). .Vbi- 
gail married Israel Swan, and Betsey married Lawson 
Dewey who became a judge of a county court in Ohio. The 
other daughters were Polly and Sarah. 

Asa PoKTP:it. — The date when Col. Porter came to 
Haverhill is not known, but early he appears as a man of 
affiiirs and enterprise. Before 1772 he owned and operated 



EARLY SETTLERS CONTINUED. 83 

a feny across Connecticut river at the Porter place. Owing^ 
to his position in the Kevolutionarv AVar he was never a 
favorite with his fcliow-townsincii, and it is said he had no 
near neighbors witli wlioni he associated. His syni{)athies 
were with the Tories, and a road at Horse meadow and the 
woods along it are still known as " Tory road" and ** 1 "ly 
woods." In 177() he with others was charged a\ ith con- 
spiracy in giving information to, and asking aid of", the 
enemy, and Porter was taken to Exeter for trial. This con- 
spiracy extended to Bath and Newbury and down the river, 
and was discovered by a young Indian. Porter was tried 
by the (xcneral Coiu*t and voted an enemy. Subsequently 
he made his escape, but was captured at Xewburyport, 
Mass., and afterward he was allowed to return to Haverhill 
on parole. In later years Col. Porter held official positions 
in the Town. He lived in a large frame house at the south 
end of Horse meadow. The farm, now owned ly Sanuiel 
F. Southard, extended down the river to ]\Iajor ^Merrill's 
farm and back toward Briar Hill. The ferry at his place 
was kept up till the " Middle Bridge " was built. He was 
also owner of large tracts of land in Corinth and Topsham, 
Vermont. 

Col. Porter introduced the "Lombard poplars" into 
Ha\('rhill. He had a field-nursery of these trees on his 
farm, and when they were large enough for transplanting he 
set out two rows close to the fence on both sides of the road 
the entire length of the meadow. This road was called 
" Horse ^leadow street." The poplars soon grew to be 
tall trees, straight and trim, and had the appearance of two 
lines of soldiers with heads erect and arms close to their 
sides. They did not fui'nish nuich shade on account" of their 
slender shape, and after they attained their growth, which 
was quite ra])id, the limbs began to decay, and the trees 
looked ragged and ill-shaped, and soon died out, so that 
there is not one left to tell the tale of their t)rii;in and lifi*. 



■84 HISTOltY OF HAVERHILL. 

Col. Porter married a sister of Andrew S. Crocker, and a 
daii<i;hter of theirs became the wife of Mills Olcott, Esq., of 
Hanover, a very influential and prominent man at that time, 
and whose family, mostly daughters, attained distinction in 
their marriages. One was the wife of Joseph Bell, the 
famous Haverhill lawyer, another married Rufus Choate, 
the great ad^•ocate, and a third was the wife of the late 
William H. Duncan, Esq., of Hanover, one of the most 
accomplished men of New Hampshire. One of Col. Porter's 
sons lived in South Newbury, John (see Chap. XVH). The 
Porter family became early extinct in Haverhill. 

Col. Porter was familiarly known as " Migin Porter" 
from the habit he had, Avhen expressing his opinion, of say- 
ing, " I migin," which was a shorter and perverted form of 
*'I imagine." On one occasion when about to punish his 
negro girl, he tied a rope around her body, and then fastened 
the other end to himself, so that the girl could not get away 
whilst he laid on the lash. But the girl being a very large 
and powerful person, and he being to an equal degree a 
small man, ran down to the river bank intending to drag the 
Colonel in, but seeing his danger he called out frantically for 
help, and on being delivered from the impending bath, he 
said, " I migined the creatur would drown me." 

Col. Porter was a man of aristocratic and select tastes, 
and belonged in his social haljits to the aristocracy of his 
day. He had the advantage of a lil)eral education, being 
a graduate of Harvard College, and filled a large place in 
the early history of the Town. 

Willia:m Pouter, a younger brother of Asa Porter, 
lived near him at Horse meadow for a time and later he 
moved out on the "Turnpike." "Pointer Hill" gets its 
name from him. He was a selectman, and came to Haver- 
hill about 1771). His wife's maiden name was Mary Adams, 
and they had a large family of children, one of whom, 
Sarah, became the wife of John Osoood, the famous clock- 



EARLY SiyiTLEKS CONTINUED. 85' 

makei* of Haverhill, whose daughter married the late Daniel 
Blaisdell of Hanover. Mr. Porter's son William, familiarly 
known as " Uncle Billy," lived on the homestead on " Por- 
ter Hill," and a grand-daughter of his, Mrs. flohn C. 
Purhank, is still living there. A sister of Mrs. Purhank 
was for many years the lady-like cashier of the ladies' (le[)art- 
ment of the Parker House restaurant, Boston. A great- 
grandson of A\'illiam Porter, Albert E., is an esteemed and 
active business man of Ashland. 

Andrew Savage Crocker came from Hollis, and was 
amongst the earlier settlers of Haverhill. His name appears 
in the Town records as early as 1771, when he was chosen 
one of the selectmen, and served in that position twelve 
years. He was also Town clerk for a nundjer of years. 
In the early development of the Town he took an active and 
leading part, and was one of the most influential citizens of 
its pioneer history. He bore a royal commission as justice- 
of the peace from the British government in Colonial times,, 
and went by the name of " Squire Crocker." This commis- 
sion was formerly in possession of his grand-daughter, Mrs.. 
Hiram Carr of Boston, but is now in the keej)ing of Alvah 
Crocker of Fitchburg, Mass. In 177G he was ai)[)ointed by 
the General Court coroner of Grafton county, but he 
declined the appointn)ent on the ground that he '* was not 
in sym[)athy with the form of government then in vogue." 
There is a hint in this lefusal to accept office of the differ- 
ence of ojyinion which pre\ai]ed in tlios<' times. Men were 
divided into royalists and rc\()lutionists, oftener called 
"Tories" and "Patriots" according as censure or praise 
was intended. 

Mr. Crocker's wife was Shua Thurston, and their home 
w'as at Horse meadow. Their only child, Kdwaid Pass, 
married Elizabeth Gibson of Hillsboro", and their six cliil- 
dren were Andrew, (Jiles, l^dwai'd, Moses, FriMh'iick, and 
Marv. One died in infancy, Andrew, (iiles, and l'>d\vard 



86 HISTORY OF HAVEKHILL, 

died in the same year, 1840 — Andrew in Cuba, Giles in 
Mobile, Ala., and Edward in New Orleans. Edward was a 
lawyer, and read with Joseph Bell. Andrew was the only 
son, except Frederick that married, and his wife's maiden 
name was Sarah Carr of North Haverhill. Their only child. 
Miss Hannah Crocker, is still living in Plainfield, N. J. 
jVIary, the only daughter of Andrew Crocker, married 
Hiram Carr and is now living in Boston. Frederick (see 
Chap. XIX). 

Mr. Crocker was a man of high character and social posi- 
tion, and above the average of his townsmen in intelligence 
and knowledge. He with others of that time constituted the 
aristocracy of the Cohos settlement. In stature he was of 
medium height with rather slender form, and he commanded 
respect and influence by his worth and ability. 

Nathaniel Merrill came to Haverhill quite early from 
the vicinity of Haverhill, Mass., and settled on a farm at the 
Plain. The Merrill house is still standing, and is now occu- 
pied by Herbert Eastman, but has been changed. He Avas 
born in 1754, and married Sarah Hazen, daughter of Capt. 
John Hazen. They had a family of twelve children, eleven 
of whom were daughters, all of whom, tradition says, were 
comely, and some even handsome. The son died in early 
life. Sally mai'ried Aaron Ilibbard of Bath, Eliza) )eth 
married Moses Swasey, Polly married Nathaniel Runnels of 
Piermont, Nancy married 01)adiah Swasey, Charlotte married 
Isaac Pearson who lived at the Brook, Lucinda married 
Abner Bailey of Newbury, lluth and Hannah were twins, 
the former married James Morse, the latter John Page. 

The grandchildren of Major Merrill were numerous. 
Miss Priscilla Morse, who lived at the Corner for many 
years, was a daughter of Thomas Morse who married Hittie 
Merrill, and Mrs. Babcock of San Francisco is a daughter 
of the late Samuel Page who married Louisa Merrill. 

Major Merrill was a prominent citizen of the Town, and 



KAULY SKTTLKItS CONTIM Kl). 87 

lield many puhlic position?!. He was selectman for many 
years, and represented the Town in the legishiture several 
terms. He was a man of energy and public spirit, and is 
said to have owned the first eliaise in Haverhill. In INK! 
he moved to Piermont, where he died in 1^2-"). He was a 
man of strong character and influence and larf>e conunon 
sense, somewhat l)hmt, hut practical and honest, full of fun 
and quite a favorite. He was also quite eccentric, writing- 
reeei[)ts with a ([uaint humor, using in them the ])hrase, 
"from the beginning of the world up to this date." Kev. 
Ethan Smith said of him, " He knew more than any man 
who hadn't more education than he had." 

As illustrating his character, a young man visiting one of 
the daughters, and staying as was the custom in those days 
till, if not " broad day-light," at least early dawn, when 
about to mount his horse to ride away, Major ^Merrill st()i)])ed 
him and said, " Abner, stay to breakfast and then go home." 
The bashful youth not wishing to ride home in day-light, 
replied, " No, I'll go now." " Well," was the unconditional 
answer, " if you're ashamed to go home in broad day-light, 
you needn't come to see my daughter." 

On another occasion when two men were working for him 
whose honesty needed looking after, he observed that they 
seemed disposed after work to linger around the j:r,'mises till 
dark. The lights were extinguished, and Maj. ]\Ienill took 
a position at the w^indow f )r observation. Pretty soon the 
loiterers approached the (('Uar window. Going to the win- 
dow Maj. Merrill found one of the men holding a bag, who 
at once beat a hasty retreat. When the other man came 
with his hands full of salt pork, Maj. Merrill was holding 
the bag, and after bringing several lots the man asked if he 
hadn't about enough, to which ^Taj. Merrill in his usual 

vigorous English, replied, " I should think so. by ." 

The thief undertook to get out by the window, but was pre- 
vented, and was conqx'lled to go up through the house wliert- 



88 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

the Major met him. " I want you ami the other man to 
come to my house to-morrow at twelve o'clock and take 
dinner with me." The man could do no more than promise. 
At twehe the two ap[)eared, and a most bountiful boiled 
dinner awaited tliem. They sat down and were g;enerously 
helped, and the Major carried on a lively conversation with 
them. Dinner over he leaned back in his chair and said to 
the two men, " When you want pork again come to my 
house and you shall have all you wish," and then kindly 
dismissed them. They were ever after Maj. MerrilFs most 
devoted friends. 

We do not wonder tliat beino; asked to give money to civ- 
ilize the heathen, he replied, "I'll give $20 to civilize the 
heathen within five miles of my house." Maj. Merrill in 
physical aspect was a man of more than medium size, broad 
shouldered, strong head, and weighed al)out one hundred 
seventy-five pounds. 

Mrs. Merrill was a woman of rare character and most 
amiable disposition. She came of gentle blood. One of her 
grandchildren says of her, " ]My own remembrance of her 
is one of the warmest, sunniest spots in my early life and 
memory. I was not more than five or six years of age when 
I visited at her home in North Haverhill, and I yet seem to 
feel her soft hand upon my head, and to see anew her sweet, 
smiling face as she gave me, to my great satisfaction, a slice 
of bread." 

William Merrill. — A person by this name, tradition 
says, lived in Haverhill in its early history ; that a son, 
Joshua, enlisted in tlie War of LS12 ; that after the war 
Joshua went to Ohio, and that soon after that period he 
endeavored to open correspondence Avith the Haverhill part 
of the family, but received no answer, tiie family either 
having moved to ])arts unknown, or may have become ex- 
tinct by the fearful sj)otted fever that swept over this region 
in 1(^15. A son of Joshua has risen to great prominence. 



EAKLY SETTLEKS CONTINUED. 89 

being the distinguished Bishop Stephen M. Merrill, D.D., 
of the Methodist lOpiscoj);!! church, and now resides in 
Chicago. Some circumstances make it probable that Wil- 
liam was either a brotlier of Maj. Nathaniel Merrill or 
belonged to the Warren Merrills. 

JoSEi'H Pearson was one of the earlier settlers, and 
came from lioseawen. The exact date is not known, but as 
early as 1779 he was the owner of a fulling mill at the 
Brook. Later, he carried on the lumber business, and was 
a man of much energy and enterprise. He took a promi- 
nent part in developing the resources of the Town and in 
building up its prosperity. He was an upright and worthy 
citizen, and highly esteemed. Physically he was large and 
broad shouldered. His wife's maiden name was Hannah 
Johnston, daughter of Col. Charles Johnston, and they had 
a large family. One of their sons, Samuel A., was a grad- 
uate of Dartmouth College in 1803, and studied law with 
Alden Sprague. He ])racticed his profession in Lancaster, 
but did not gain special distinction. In his later life he 
seems to have been unsuccessful. He held the ofhce of 
post-master for many years at Lancaster. A daughter, 
Nancy, became the wife of Christopher ^Nlarsh, a clergyman 
in Massachusetts. 

Mrs. Pearson was a woman of superior charac^ter, and was 
one of the original members of the Congregational church in 
Haverhill. She possessed a bright and quick mind, and was 
especially attractive to the young, to whom she would tell 
Bible stories in a singularly entertaining and instructive way, 
and won their love and esteem by her kindly and gentle 
manners. 

Isaac was their oldest child, inheriting nuich of his father's 
energetic and enterprising nature, and became his successor 
in the lumber business at the P>rook. He owned large 
meadows on the ri\er and also considerable land on the east 
side (if Ladd street. He was gencrallv known as ** Major" 



90 HISTORY OF IIAVEKHILL. 

Pearson, his fiither as " Captain" Pearson, and was a man 
of esteemed character and g-ood standini;. lie married first 
Charh)ttc, daughter of Maj. Nathaniel Merrill. They had 
two children, INIerrill and Caroline. ]\Ierrill Pearson who 
died recently in Bloomington, 111., married a daughter of 
Dea. Henry Barstow of Haverhill. Maj. Pearson's second 
wife was Charlotte Atherton, and a daughter by this marri- 
age, Mrs. James M. Chadwick, lives in Saginaw, INIich. 
James Henry (see Chap. XIX). 

This family illustrates the genius for business in one 
direction. Four of the sons of Maj. Pearson engaged in 
the lumber business, — -James, George, Charles, Isaac, — and 
this has been the principal occupation of the Pearson family 
for four generations. 

None of the Major Pearson family or their descendants 
are now living in Haverhill. The old Pearson house is still 
standing on Ladd street on the left hand side of the road 
after leaving the Oliverian bridge. 

Samup:l PiioOKS came to Plaverhill about the close of 
the Revolution a young man. His father was a pi'osperous 
citizen of Worcester, Mass. His mother's name was 
Hannah Davis before her marriage. Young Brooks when 
he came to Plaverhill opened a store at the Corner, and was 
also the owner of an oil mill at tlu; Brook, but he was not 
very successful in these ventures. Later, he went to Quebec 
and contracted with the governor of the Province for a tract 
of land in the township of Chester, then an imbroken wil- 
derness, aud two of his brothers began lumbering operations 
in this forest. A year or two later, 1812, he took his 
family to Canada, but owing to a change of governor in the 
Province the plans Avhich he had marked out were defeated, 
and leaving Chester he came to Stanstead where he lived to 
the close of his life. 

Mr. Brooks during his residence in Haverhill was one of 
the most influential citizens of the Town, and took an active 



EAItLY SKTTLEItS rOXTIXrEI). 91 

part in all public matters. lie represented the Town in the 
legislature, was a selectman, and also Town clerk. Jiesides 
these positions of trust he also held the office of register of 
deeds for (Jrafton county for a nunihcr of years. lie is 
represented as a man of gentle manners, and is said to have 
been very ingenious and skillful. 

He married a daughter of Col. Timothy Bedi'l, the widow 
of Dr. Thaddeus liutler. Of their family one of the daugh- 
ters, Hannah, married for her first husband Capt. AVilliam 
Trotter of Bradford, Vermont, and afterwards Col. ^^'illiam 
Barron of the same place. Both, it is said, were famous in 
their day for their fondness for the chase, and were accus- 
tomed to hunt for deer back of ]Mt. Gardner. ]Mr. Barron 
was a gentleman of the olden school, tall, somewhat slightly 
built, and a cry dignified and commanding in person and 
s[)cech. Another daughter married Asa Low of Bradford, 
Vermont, and a third became the wife of Judge Nesmith of 
Franklin. These daughters were women of great excellence 
of character, ornaments in home, church and society. Sam- 
uel and Edwin (see Chap. XIX) ; (icorge AVashington, 
another son, is worthy of mention as bcfjueathing to his 
country twenty children, and in this respect may be said to 
be the father of his country. He was rightly named. 

The old Brooks house in Haverhill stood on the South 
Park near where the pum[) now is. The house and barn 
were afterwards moved to Court street, and remodeled, and 
are now the residences of Jud<;e Wcstijate and the late Mrs. 
Barstow. 

The Mokses have been numerous in Haverhill during 
most of its history. 

Stephex Morse came to the Town from Massachusetts, 
probably near the close of the Revolutionary War. He was 
born in 1757, and died in 1H43 at the age of ^1 . His 
Avife's name was Sally Kay. His lived on " Morse Hill," 
on the old Coventrv road from Xorth Haverhill to Coventrv. 



92 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

now Benton. By trade he was a blacksmith, and had a 
family of twelve children, all sons. It is said he would ride 
on horseback from his home to Horse meadow and to the 
Corner, and sleep most of the way. He was also very deaf, 
and used a tin trumpet to aid his hearing. 

Of his children, Bryan was the oldest, born in 1781, and 
married Susannah Stevens, and like his father, he was a 
blacksmith and also a cabinet maker, but afterwards he 
became a Methodist clergyman and lived at the Corner in the 
house opposite the Col. Johnston place till 1833, when 
with his family he moved to Lowell, Mass., where he 
engaged in merchantile business for some years. Later, he 
lived in Groveland, Mass., and died there in 18(53 at the 
age of 82. 

Bryan Morse's family, some of them, became prominent 
in professional and other walks of life. Horace B., the 
oldest, was a graduate of Dartmouth College in 1823, and 
lost his life by drowning at Portsmouth. 

Peabody A., George W., Isaac S., (See Chap. XIX). 

Caleb, the second son of Stephen Morse, lived on a farm 
near his father. One of his daughters, Ruth, inarried 
Charles G. Sujith. C\aleb Morse died at his home in 1842, 
and during his life he was prominent in town matters, and 
also represented the Town in the legislature. John C, 
followed the occuj)ation of his father, Stephen, and lived at 
Horse Meadow. In his later life he kej)t a tavern in the 
house now occupied by his son, John X. ^lorse, a prouiinent 
citizen of the Town. 

Kobert, another son of Stephen Morse, (See Chap. XIX). 

Joshua was a merchant at North Haverhill, and then the 
])roj)riet()r and keeper for many years of the stage tavern in 
Kumncy, a hostilery noted far and near under his and his 
wife's care for its excellent service to the travelling pul)lic. 
One of Stephen ]Morse's children was a physician in North- 
ern Vermont ; Hiram lived on the old homestead, and Caleb's 



EAKLY SETTLERS CONTINUED. 93 

son Caleb is the only representative ot" the Morse family 
occupying the old ground. 

Edmund Morse was a younger brother of" Stej)hen 
Morse, and was l)()rn in 17(54. He came to Haverhill about 
the time his brother did, but after a few years he moved to 
Groton, Vt., and was the pioneer settler of that town. He 
married Sally, daughter of Capt. A^"esson of Haverhill, 
and their daughter Sally was the first child born in Groton. 
He was a man of excellent character. It is said his first 
blacksmith shop in Groton consisted of a fire-place and a 
stump to put his anvil on, and thus he began business. He 
was full of energy and enterprise. 

A Deacon Morse lived on Briar Hill, and was for a 
number of years tax collector. He was very persistent, and 
on this account he got the name of " Pincher jNIorse." 
There was also a Stephen Morse, a deacon in the Congrega- 
tional church at the Corner in 1813, and he may have been 
the same as the Briar Hill deacon. 

Joseph Bliss took a leading part in the earlier history of 
the town. He was one of the numi)er that built the first 
Academy buildinfj. He lived in the house where Georofc 
AV. Leith now lives, and for many years it was kept by him 
as a tavern. It was the aristocratic head-quarters in its day 
for the judges and the lawyers. Mr. Bliss was a trustee of 
the Academy, a man of influence, but quite small of statui-e. 
He was the first post-master in Haverhill, being ajjpointed 
under Washington. 

Mrs. Bliss is spoken . of as very much o{' a ladv, nf a 
refined and cultivated mind. She always observed the pro- 
prieties of social life with great exactness. And she was 
equally punctilious when at churcli. She was a woman of 
much spirit, and there is a story that on one occasion whilst 
on a visit at her daughter's, INIrs. Judge Livcrmore in IIol- 
derness, — the Judge in his day being one of the prominent 
lawyers in the state, — he and Mrs. Bliss had a sharp passage 



94 HISTORY OF HAVEKIIILL. 

of words just as they were going to leave Ilolderness for her 
home in Haverhill, and that they made the ride of forty 
miles without speaking a word. Mrs. Bliss after the death 
of her husband kept a ladies' store in the east room of the 
old tavern. 

Joshua Young came to Haverhill in the early history of 
the Town, and was the son of John and Susannah (Getchell) 
Young. He was born in Haverhill, Mass., in 1755, and 
died in 1797. His parents Avere persons of high character 
and social standing, who moved to Lisbon before or during 
the Revolutionary War, and afterwards to Hanover,, where 
the father died in 17 (S 5. Whilst in Lisbon, John Young, 
the father of Joshua, was prominent in civil and military 
affairs. He married for his second wife a daughter of Pi'es. 
Lleazar Wheelock, the founder of Dartmouth College, and 
his daughter, Trypheua, married John Wheelock, the second 
jn-esident of Dartmouth College. Joshua Young married 
Abiah, the oldest daughter of Judge Ezekiel Ladd, and of 
their children, Stiva became the grandmother of Judge 
Charles K. ]Morrison of Concord. Joshua Young was a 
bright and capal)le man, and Avas, it is said, at one time on 
Gen. Stark's staff. In the late years of his life he was over- 
taken by a sad infirmity, the slave of appetite, which finally 
ended in a very tragic death. Tryphena Young who became 
the Avife of President John Wheelock, Avas noted for lier 
beautiful and SAveet voice, dying Avhilst singing the hymn 
of Watts, — " Show pity, Lord, O Lord forgive." Joshua 
Young lived AA'here Mr. Peter Flanders now lives, and part 
of the present house Avas the original Young house. 

Amos Kimball Avas one of the earlier settlers in Haver- 
hill, and lived on Ladd street in a log house at the foot of 
the hill near the little brook that runs by George Wilson's 
place. His wife's maiden name Avas Abigail Corliss, and 
they had a lai-ge family of eleven children. Several of the 
sons and daughters Avent to the West and to Canada. A 



EAKLY SETTLEKS CONTlMEl). 95 

grandson, Francis D.-, living in Ohio, became quite promi- 
nent as a lawyer and politician. lie was elected secretary of 
state on the ticket Avith the late Chief Justice Chase, 
when the latter ran for governor of that state, and died 
whilst in office. 

The youngest son, Amos, li\ed on the farm now owned 
and occupied by Ezra S. Kimball. Amos Kimball was some- 
what active in Town affairs, and was a selectman a number 
of times. 

John, the eldest son of Amos, was a prominent man in 
public and church matters. lie was a deacon of the Congre- 
gational church at Horse meadow, and colonel of the 13th 
Regiment State Militia. He also represented the Town in 
the legislature for several years, and served in the board of 
selectmen for a number of years. Of his numerous family, 
John (see Chap. XIX). Dudley C. died recently in Xew- 
l)ury, Vt., Benjamin F. lives in Newbury, Vt. 

Isaac B. resides in Concord. Only one of the seven 
daughters is living, Mrs. E. T. White of Washington, D. 
C. Dea. Porter Kimball and ]\Irs. Lyman Southard are 
children of the late Dudley C. Kimball. 

AViLLiAM Cross is worth}' of mention, if for no other 
reason, from the fact that he so well and faithfully filled a 
position in which few attained success. He was a brother-in- 
law of Judge Ladd whose sister Abigail he married, and came 
to Haverhill in 178<S, He was from Haverhill, Mass., and 
lived in the house lately owned and occupied by Eliza Cross. 
Mr. Cross was for many years the faithful and trusty sexton 
of the Ladd street meeting house, and was punctual all that 
time in ringing the nine o'clock evening bell, the signal for 
putting out the old candle lights and ])rej)aring for rest, as 
was the custom in early times in New Kngland. ^Ir. Cross 
lived to the extreme old a<;e of one hundred vears and a few 
months. 

Miss Eliza Cross, his daughter, born in 1700, lived to 



96 HISTOKY OF HAVEllHILL. 

nearly her father's age, ninety-seven, and was up to the time 
of her death, in the enjoyment of remarkably good health 
and of her reason. She was the last connecting link in 
Town with the generation of earliest settlers, and has fur- 
nished many a fact and incident for these pages, showing a 
most commendable interest in the progress of the work and 
in the preservation of the earlier period of the Town's his- 
tory. Miss Cross was at one time superintendent of the 
Sabbath school on Ladd street. In those days a bright 
colored card was g^iven to each scholar for conunittinii: to 
memory a certain number of verses from the Bible. iVfter- 
wards a cent was paid for every ten verses committed. The 
first library for the use of Sabbath schools in Haverhill, she 
says, was one hundred books each to the school on Ladd 
street, at the Corner and at East Haverhill. Miss Cross 
died suddenly, Sept. 2, 1887, aged 97 years and some 
months. 

Jeremiah Cross, brother of Eliza, was a man of more than 
ordinary ability, but of somewhat limited education, and was 
very prominent as a Free Mason, holding the very highest 
position in that order. He lectured all through the country 
on Masonry, and was regarded as the best authority on the 
practical workings of the system. He died in 18()(). 

John Osgood Avas born in Andover, Mass., in 1770, 
and became a citizen of Haverhill as early as 1795, dying 
here in 1840. He was a maker of the old style high clocks 
which were common in those days, many of which are still 
in use in this region bearin2^ his name. Thcv are now much 
sought after by the lovers of the ancient, and command 
fancy prices, such that if their maker had sold them origin- 
ally for the sums they now bring, he would have become a 
money-king. Mr. Osgood was quiet and unobtrusive in his 
manners, and much esteemed by his felloAV citizens. For 
several years he was a member of the board of trustees of 
Haverhill Academy, and Jilso served as tOAvn treasurer and 



EARLY SETTLEIIS — CONTIMKI). 97 

clork for a immlier of years. He had an infirmity of 
lameness. I le lived at one time in the west end of the 
house where Mr. Nathaniel Bailey lives, afterwai'ds in the 
house now owned and oeeupied hy Dr. Watson. He 
married Sarah, dau<2;hter of William Porter, and of their 
ehildren a dau<j,hter, Charlotte, niai'ried Daniel lUaisdell, 
Ivs(|., of IIano\er, and of their two ehildren, Alfred, a 
U'raduate of Dartmouth Colleg-e, is head draftsman at the 
iirooklvn navy yard, and Charlotte married Prof. Knggles 
of Dartmouth Colleue. ^Irs. Blaisdell lives at Hanover 
with her daughter. 

The Cakij.s. — Capt. Daniel Carr and his brother, Dea. 
fTohn Carr, came to Haverhill from Ncwburyport, Mass., 
neai- the close of the last century. John settled on a piece 
of land now the farm of his son, Joshna. His wife was 
Hannah Work of West Newbury, Mass., and they had a 
large family, flohn Carr's son, Joshna, was selectman in 
l.S()l-():;?, and John E. Carr, a grandson, hlled the same 
])osition in 1^^73-5-1), and was representative in 1878— (SO— 81. 
He has also been a member of the state board of agriculture 
for Grafton county. 

Capt. Daniel Carr settled on the farm where D. E. Can- 
now lives. He married Elizabeth Work, sister of Dea. 
Carr's wife. He was a cajjtain in the state militia. His 
eldest son, Daniel, was a deacon in the BajVtist church at 
North Haverhill, and was a selectman for several years. 
The Carrs have been prominent citizens of the Town tVom 
the first, and were connected by marriage with the Crocker 
family, — a son and daughter of Dea. John Carr married a 
daughter and son of Edward B. Crocker. The late ^laj. 
Samuel Carr, an esteemed citizen of the Fown, was a select- 
man in 1854—5. 

TllK SwAXs came to HaAcrhill at an (arly date, and were 
more or less prominent in the history of the Town. 

Joshua was the oldest, being born in 17fi7. AN'illiam 



98 1II8TOKY OF HAVKPJIILL. 

Swan, the Imtter, was connected, it is said, with Joshua. 
AVilliani lived where the Exchanse hotel now stands, and 
his son, Col. Charles Swan, built the original hotel. After- 
wards Col. Swan went West. He was an active, enterpris- 
ing', and influential citizen. Joshua Swan was moderator in 
1803. 

Israel Swax was born in 1768, and was a brother of 
Joshua. lie married for his first wife Abigail Johnston, 
daughter of Col. Charles Johnston, and was one of the 
petitioners for the charter of Haverhill Academy. He was 
active in Town matters, and held various positions of respon- 
sibility. His son, Charles J. Swan, who married Elizabeth 
Ladd, moved to Ohio, where his family grew u[» and held 
honorable positions in society. His wife is still living at 
LeRoy, Ohio. 

Phineas Swax came to Haverhill near the close of the 
last century. He was not related to the Swans named 
above. He first lived on Ladd street where Henry S. Bailey 
now lives. Afterwards he built a wooden house at the Buck 
place. His wife was a Miss Webster before her marriage, 
and a daughter became the wife of Ezekiel Ladd, Jr. 
Benjamin, their son, married Grace Carr of Piermout, and 
of their children, Henry and his son and daughter are the 
only descendants of Phineas Swan now living in Haverhill. 

Obadiah Swasey was born in Haverhill, Mass., in 
1775, and came to Newbury, \ t., near the close of the last 
century. At first he lived with an older brother for a short 
time as an apprentice to the (•ar[»enter trade. He married 
Xancy, daughter of ^laj. Merrill, and moved from Xewi)ury 
to North Haverhill about 18()«S, and lived on the old Hazen 
farm till his death in 18H(). 

Mr. Swasey was a prominent and successlul business man, 
and built and owned the grist mill and saw mill known as 
the "Swasey mills" at North Haverhill, where for many 
years he was extensively engaged in the manufacture of 



EAHLY SETTI.EKS CONTIM El), 9i) 

liiiuIxT and transporting: it to the towns and cities on tlic 
Connecticut river in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He 
died at the aj^e of (il, liaviuL;; enjoyed the esteem and confi- 
dence of his teUow townsmen. 

Of the numerous family of ObacUah and Xancv (Mei-iill) 
Swasey, Mary Ann nian-ied Joim L. A\'oods ; Sanuiel in 
htter years lived in Belvidei'e, 111., and died in 1887, at the 
ay,e of 82. He fitted for college at Haverhill Academy, and 
iiraduated fiom Dartmouth College in the famous class of 
1<S2S. lia\ing as classmates the late Prof. Ira ^'oung, and 
Pres. Labaree of ^liddleburv College. He studied law and 
was admitted to the l)ar in ]*ortland, Me., but did not prac- 
tice his profession. Soon after his admission he went AVest 
where he remained a few years, and tiien returned to 
Haverhill. 

He was chosen by his fellow citizens to represent the 
Town in the legislature for five years in succession, and 
during this time of service he was elected speaker of the 
House in 1842—8. He again re[)resented the Town in 
the legislature in 1850, and was also the same year a 
member of the constitutional convention. For a number 
of years he served as selectman and for ten years he was 
Register of Prol)ate for Cirafton county. During the 
administration of President Pierce he was ins[)ector of 
customs at Portsmouth. At the close of his term of office 
he mo\ed to Pehidere, III., where he continued to ]i\e to 
the time of his death. ]Mr. Swasey married Kdith A. 
Holmes of Petei'borough. Of his surviving children 
Charles J. is a merchant in Fort Worth, Texas, Edith A. 
who married Alson Keeler, resides at Cedar liapids, Iowa, 
and Edward II. is a promising lawyei" in Chicago. 

Mr. Swasey was a man of large ability, i)ut was not 
very ambitious. He was highly esteemed, a man of integ- 
rity and high character, and was a [troiuinent citizen both 
in his western home as well as in his nati\e town. 

L.ofC. 



100 IIISTOKY OF IIAVEinilLL. 

John Ilazen Swasey began mercantile business in Port- 
land, Me., and afterward moved to Boston where he now 
resides ; Louisa l)eeame tlie wife of Ephraim Sprague 
Elkins of Kenosha, Wis., Nathaniel lives on the old home- 
stead, and married a daughter of Dr. John Angier of 
North Haverhill. Their only child, ]\Irs. Brooks, lives in 
Montpelier. Jane became the wife of Charles James, a 
lawver of Wisconsin, and now lives in Chicago ; Nancy 
married Dr. Leonard of North Haverhill ; Sarah married a 
son of Dr. Angier and lives in Chicago, and Mehitabel 
became the wife of Henry K. Elkins of Chicago. 

]Moon liUSSELL came to Haverhill in 1792. In 1799 
he was elected a representative to the legislature and also 
served in other official positions, being selectman in 1800 
and moderator in ISOl. He was born in Litchfield, then 
called Dcrryfield, luit came to Haverhill from Plymouth, 
and after a residence in the former |)lace of nine years, he 
returned to Plymouth in ISOl, Avhere he spent the remainder 
of his life, dying at the advanced age of 94 years, the 
result of an accident. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
War, and took part in the battle of Bunker Hill. He 
married Betsey, daughter of Col. Da^id Webster, and they 
had a large family. Only two of his cliildren, Catharine 
and Eliza, were born in Haverhill. 

The oldest daughter, Nancy, married John Rogers, a 
merchant of Plymouth, and two of their sons, John P., 
and Walter M. are merchants in Boston, another, Edward 
P., is a railroad man in Portland, Oregon, and a daughter, 
Charlotte H., became the first wife of Prof. William J. 
Tucker of Andover, Mass. 

David ]Moor Russell, second son of ]Moor Russell, married 
]\Iary Elint of Reading, Mass., and lived in Gainesville, 
Ala. They had two children, — one a prominent business 
man" in Lawrence, Kansas, the otlier a large planter in 
Mississipi)i. The tliird child of Moor Russell, Catherine, 



KAliLV SKITLKKS C'ON'IIM Kl). 101 

married Snniiicl (\ Wohstor, a lawyer of IMyinoutli. Two- 
of tlieir eliildren were iiicreliants in Plyinoutli, and two 
others were niercliants in Boston and New ^'oi'k. Kliza, 
the fourth child ot' Moor Kussell, niarried l>enjaMiin (i: 
Edwards, and is still living- in Brooklyn, X. Y. William 
AV., the fifth ehild, married Susan Carleton AVehster of 
Salisbury, and of their children, Alfred is a j)rominent and 
successful lawyer in Detroit, Mich., and <;raduated from 
Dai-tmouth College in iSjO. Two of his brothers, A\'illiam 
W. and Frank W ., are enterprisinii; merchants in Plymouth, 
men of character and influence, successors of their father in 
the business which he carried on so extensively for many 
years, and which was established by their grandfather nearly 
a century ago. The other children of Moor Kussell were 
Mary, who married Eliza .M. Davis of Barnet, Yt. : Walter 
W. Avent South and died at (iainesville, where he was a 
prominent merchant for nearh' half a century; Jane A. 
manied Milo 1^. dewett of Plymouth, and is now living in 
Milwaukee, A\'is., where Charles J. also li\es and has been 
engaged for many years in mercantile life. He married 
Catherine Wells Merrill of Plymouth. The youngest, dulia 
A., married Dr. Samuel Long of Plymouth. 

i'he genius of merchandising was a marked character- 
istic in the Ivussell familv. and all who enjraged in tliat 
business have been suc(»essful in a more than usual degr(>e. 

Mr. Moor Ilussell was a man of excellent character, who 
had gained the esteem and confidence of the conununity, 
and possessed much energy and enter[)rise. He was promi- 
nent in church and religious matters, and was a most uncom- 
promising ten)))erance man. The story runs that he cut 
down his orchard because the fruit of the apple tree was 
made into cider and used as a l)evei'age. 

Tin-: (iooKix Family. — Samuel (Jookin was born in 
1712 and VwvA in Dcdham and I'oston. His business'was 
that of a mci'chant. Afterwards he mo\ cd to Ilaxcrhill and 



102 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

died in IS 28. His son Richard was a prominent man in 
Haverhill, and was born in Boston in 1769. He came to 
Haverhill in 17!)II, and with his brother Samuel was tiie first 
person, it is said, who manufactured watch and hair spriny;s 
in America. For a time he was foreman in the first cut nail 
factoiy at Amesbury, Mass. Subsequently he and a ])erson 
by the name of Standrin introduced from England the wool- 
carding machines into the United States, for the improve- 
ment of which Mr. Gookin obtained several patents, and he 
and his partner manufactured in Boston the first wool-carding 
machines ever used in the United States. Previous to this 
wool was carded by hand. Afterwards, 171)9, they moved 
their business to Haverhill, and manufactured wool-carding 
machines which were sold in all parts of our country and in 
Canada. He was interested in woolen factories in Bath and 
other places, and was a man of imcommon energy and 
enterprise. He li^ed on Ladd street, and with Obadiah 
Swasey was owner of the famous "•Fisher farm." There 
is a tradition thiit on account of the carding-machines being 
brought from Fngland, an attempt was made on the lives of 
Mr. Gookin and his partijer. A hat was sent the former 
armed with a secret deadly s[)ring, but was discovered before 
the hat was worn. It was })Ut on a dog and instantly killed 
the animal. To his partner was sent a trunk that was in- 
tended to explode when unlocking. 

He died at Haverhill in l<S2(i. His wife's maiden name 
was Kebecca Denunan. ()ne of their (hiughters married 
John L. Bunce, a son, Warren Demman (see Chap. XIX). 
Mr. Gookin left a strong impression on the community. 

Asa Boyntox was a prominent and influential citizen of 
Haverhill in the latter part of the last century and the first 
of the present. The name also appears in the Piermont 
records. He was a selectman in 1802-8-1), and modevator 
in 1<S0(). He was one of the petitioners f)r the charter of 
ILncrhill Academv, and also at a later date, 1805, for the 



KAIILV SETTLKItS ('( )NTIMEI). lO;) 

charter of tlie (\>lii)s turnpike. It was said lie was tin- 
keeper of the tavern that afterwards hccanie the famous 
Towlc tavern, — at least his name apj)ears amonu'st those 
who were licensed as a " taverner to sell spirituous li(|uors." 
lie went from Haverhill to Xew York where his desccnchints, 
it is said, are active and enterprisini; ])eople. 

Joux M()NT(;<)MEi;v was of Scotch oriuin, and was horn 
in 17()4. Ilis father came to America in 17411 and settled 
in T^ondonderrv. The son it would seem moved to IIa\er- 
liill from Andover, ^lass., toward the close of the last 
century. He was moderator of town meetinu' as early as 
1 79l), and was one of the pioneer merchants at the Brook, 
lie took an active part in public matters, and was an iiiHu- 
ential and leadiuL;' citizen of the Town, heinii,' often honored 
with i)ositions of trust and responsibility. lie re|)resented 
the Town for three years in the legislature. A\'hen the W'ai- 
of 1S12 broke out he was Lieutenant-Colonel of the l.'ith 
regiment X. H. ^Militia, was a[)pointed Brigadier-General of 
the X. II. Militia that were stationed at Portsmouth for the 
defence of the harbor. Afterwards he was promotcfl to be a 
]Majoi--(iciicral. He married Betsey Iiing of IlaMThill, and 
in the marriage record he is recorded as from Andovei', 
]Mass. Of his large family none are now li^ing in 
ll:i\('rhill. ( )ne of the daughters became the first wife of 
Jonathan Nichols, and a ""randdauji'liter is now Mrs. E. II. 
Rollins, whose husband was a representative in Congress 
and also served a teiun as United States Senator. Gen. 
Montgomery, it is said, was noted for his singing talents, and 
in ai)pearance was a fine looking man. lie was highlv 
esteemed, and had extensive influence in the northern section 
of the state, and was a man of great energv and force. 
The old Montgomery place is still standing — a large, sfpiare, 
two-story house — at the Brook. 

Ross Coon was one of the characters of Ihncrhill, and 
on one occasion, in l''^()2, served as moderator. He lived in 



104 HISTORY OF HAVEinilLL. 

a wooden house whieli .stood wIutc the Bank house now 
stands, and was kept as a tavern, called the *• Coon tavern." 
This liouse was moved awav afterwards, and it is said part 
of it formed the house now lieloniiinji- to Mr. L. B. Ham, 
and the other part was the ^^'hitney house. Coon was 
called "■ Doctor," and in addition to the duties of a landlord 
he added also those of a physician. He was quite illiterate, 
and when prescribing for ])eople of a hilicuis state he would 
say the medicine was for elearini>' out the •• biiery dux." 
He afterwards ]i\cd in a large brick house at the Brook, 
wliich was also known as the " Coon tavern." Tradition 
says he was a faithful practitioner at the Coon l)ar. Land- 
lord and Doctor Coon, it is said, combined still another 
professit)n. He preached as well as practiced. He was a 
man in poor health and was confined to an arm chair, but of 
immense size, Aveighing about four luuulred pounds. He 
was famous for his mirth and storv-tclling, and did little else 
than " laugh and grow fat," and made others laugh also. 
Pie was the author of the saying, " A thousand lies are told 
everv day and not half of them are true.' 

Glazieu AViieeleu was another cliaractcr of Haverhill. 
He vras a very skilled worker in the fine metals, and was 
employed, it is said, by certain j)eisons in Haverhill who 
were willing to make a cheap dollar go as far as a ti'uc one, 
to get up such a coin, in which there was only one-half as 
much silver as in the genuine coin dollar. Wheeler got into 
trouble by his counterfeiting and sufiiji-ed the conse([uences 
of his misdeeds. .Vccording to the customs of the times 
he had his ears cropped as a part of the ])enalty. He 
afterwards told some of his customers, for whom he had 
been- operating, that they were not satisfied with having 
two dollars for one, but asked of him three and four for 
one, and in this wav their adulterated dollars were dis- 
covered. It is said he was subse(piently employed in the 
mint at Philadelphia on account of his great skill. 



EAIILY SKTTI.KI.'S — rONTIMKI). 105 

KiCHAiM) Fkexch, fanuliarly known in lii.s day as "Dick" 
French, was an early settler in the direction (^f P>iiar liill, 
and was famous tor his skill as a ti-apjx'r and a disciple of 
Isaak AValton. ^^'ltat he did not know of the habits of 
the " speckled trout" and of wild animals was not worth 
knowinii;. Pool hrook al)o\t' tiie S\\ asev mills was noted 
for its fine troutini;\ and French pond, the chief source of 
the hrook, abounded in trout. Alas, that loni^ ago its 
waters should have been jjjiven over to the deadly j)ickerel, 
so that now onl\- a strav trout can be I'ound. Descendants 
of the famous hunter and trap[»er are still livini^- in the 
neighborhood of French pond. 



There are two other persons with their families that may 
appropriately be i!:iven a place in this cha])ter, since all 
their business and social relations Avere with Haverhill, 
although their homes were not witiiin t!ie limits of the Town. 

Pakkeu !Ste>'EXS came to Haverhill from Hamj)stead in 
1787, and settled on a tract of land in Piermont on the 
edge of Haverliill. This tract was the generous lot of ')()() 
acies. lie brought with hiin a family of seven children. The 
sons became farmers, and the original tract was ])arcellcd 
out to them. The youngest child, Caleb, born in 17S2, 
remained on the homestead till (piite late in life, when he 
moved to Concord and lived with his son, Lyman D. 
Ste\ens, and died in 1<S7(). ]\Ir. I*arker Stevens was an 
enterprising man, of some force of character and soon 
after coming to Piermont he petitioned the General Coiut 
to be allowed to run a ferry across the (\)nneeticut river on 
his farn>. Caleb Stevens married Sally Dewey, daughter 
of Dea. Dewey of I'ici'inont. and tliev had two children. 
A daughter. Cynthia, married Is;iac II. llealey and li\('d in 
Picruiont. The son, Lyman D., (see Cha]). XIX.) 

\\'ll,r,lAM Tai:lkt()N Wwd in Piermont on the Turnpike near 
Tarleton lake, a bcautifid sheet of water about two miles 



10*) IIISTOUY OF HAVEKHILL. 

louii" and nearly a mile wide at its greatest width, to wliich 
lie gave name. The exact time when he came to the Cohos 
Country is not known, but earlier than 1774. He was a 
young man just turned of twenty-one, but a man of force 
and energy, and soon took a prominent pai-t in public 
matters. lie came from Newmarket or from that vicinitv, 
at least the name is found in the Portsmouth and Xew- 
market Town Pa[)ers, and his bearing was such as to 
indicate })arentage of social standing. He was a man of 
large ability, intelligence, and influence, and held many 
positions of trust and honor in town, county, and state. 
He was also a man of high character and is saitl to have 
been quite aristocratic in his tastes and ideas. He held a 
ca])tain's commission in Col. Bedel's I'cgiment in the Revolu- 
tion and subsequently he was appointed Col. ot the 13th 
N. H. INIilitia. He was active in Town matters, and 
represented Piermont and Warren in the legislature, and 
was one of the most widely known citizens of Grafton 
County. He was also a member of the committee in 
1701-2 to revise the Constitution of the State. In 1804 he 
was a Pi-esidential elector, and again in 1(S()S. He ran as 
a candidate for Senator in iSOo and in 1.S07, and was a 
member of the governor's council in 1<S()<S. From ISOS to 
18 K) he was high-sheriff of Grafton County. All these 
positions at that time were the prizes of the first men of the 
Coimtry, and rarely could a man without j)ossessing ai)ility 
and character attain them. 

We find Col. Tarleton associated in various ways with 
the [>rominent men of this section of country in all matters 
of enterprise. He was one of the leading spirits in [)rocur- 
ing the charter of and in [)ushing to an early completion 
the Cohos turnpike, and was one of the proprietors of that 
thoroughfare. 

From 1774 when travel was pouring into the Cohos 
Country he kept tavern at Tarleton lake, and gave fame to 



KAKLY SKTTI.ERS CONTIMHI). 107 

that early hostclrv wIutc the traAclliT was sure to tiiul 
not only excellent service, but a host who in intelligence 
juid genteel hearing was the peer of his guests. The old 
sign is still jtreserx cd. It is made of a single oaken hoard 
beautifully [)ainted. On the top on one side is tlu! name 
"William Tarleton," at the bottom the date, '*1774."' 
Between the name and the date is a ])ainting of (ien. ^^'olf 
Avith drawn sword and full uniform. .Washington had not 
yet come into view. A^'oIf was the great hero. On the 
other side was a representation of "Plenty." The sign 
is now in possession of Amos Tarleton of Haverhill, a 
irrandson of Col. AVilliam. For two o-enerations it swung 
in the free winds which swept over Tarleton lake, and 
could it s[)eak of all that took place during that time, what 
a strange tale it could tell of the days of old. 

C\)I. Tarleton was tallish, but not heavily built, erect in 
bearing, and gave the impression, it is said, of superiority 
and force. He wrote a beautiful hand. He was married 
twice. His first wife before her marriage was Betsey Fisk 
of Piermont, a woman of excellent qualities of heart and 
mind. Pjv this union there were five children. For his 
second wife he married Polly Melville of Derry, and they 
had nine children. She outlived her husband some years, 
and was remembered by the older peojilc as a woman of cul- 
ture and society. Of the large family of children, .Vmos, 
the eldest, succeeded his father in the old homestead. He 
represented the town of Piermont for several years. Most 
of the other children went South and AN'est, (see Chap. 
XIX.) Col. Tarleton died at his home in 1^18 at the age 
of ()(), and his death is said to have been hastened by 
troubles which came upon him whilst sheriff, through the 
unfaithfulness of some of his de[)Uties, but which in no way 
tarnished his honorable reputation, for which he is said to 
liave been very jealous. He lies buried in the Ladd Street 
Cemetery where a beautiful and appropriate monument 



108 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

marks his rcstino; place. AMicn the funeral procession 
reached Haverhill Corner the coffin lid was renio\ed, and 
many who could not go to the house were given an o})por- 
tunity of looking in)on the face of one so well-known in 
the connnunity and who had filled so many and important 
places of honor and trust. 



CHAPTER VII. 

SKTTLKKS FROM ISOO. 

Division-line l)et\voen early antl late Settlers— Kiver and back .Settlements— Briar 
Hill— Alonjr Oliverian — Kast llaverliill— Woodsville — BiojrraiJhical Sketches — 
Xoyeses— \Vel)sters— Tiarstows— A character— Wilsons— Towles—Kphraini Kings- 
bury — Merrills — Timothy A . Eilson — Hells — Noah Davis — Morses — Chester 
Farnian — Perley Aver — The Jcfl'ers — Timothy AVilmot- Michael Carleton — 
Woodwards— Hosea S. Baker— StClairs— The Pikes— Russell Kimball— James P. 
Brewei-— Southards— Charles C. Kimball — Jo.s. B. Niles — Mansons — John McClary 
— Rixes— John L. Bunee—Stowes— Reding Brothers— Jonathan Nichols— William 
C. Marston — Haywards— Warrens — Jonathan B. Rowell — Klliotts— Timothy K. 
Blaisdell— Cuttings— Clarks— Salmon Fish— Smiths— Alonzo W. Putnam— Cum- 
mings Brothers— Caleb Hunt — Jackson Brothers — Timothy R. Bacon — Daniel 
r.atchelder— John Vose Bean — Bailey Brothers — Charles A. Gale — Darius K. 
Davis— Levi T>. Ham — Currier Brothers — Augustus Whitney— The Slevenses— 
The Weekses— J. G. Blood— William H. Nelson — Joseph Powers — Meaders— 
Charles B. Griswold— Andrew J. Edgoly— Caleb Wells— Charles H. Day— R. D. 
Tucker. 

I li;i\c made the division-line between earlv and later 
settlers at 1800, whieh in one sensd is piirelv arhitrarv, and 
yet that date may be said to indicate a transition ])eriod. 
The early settlers were fast passin<>- awav from the staiie of" 
active lite at the be<i,inniny; of the ])rescnt eentury, and a new 
generation of men were stepping into their })laces. This 
date may also be the division-line between the period of the 
river-settlements and the settlements in the central and east- 
ern section of the Town. Up to ISOO population was 
mainly along the river road, at North Haverhill and Ox liow 
and at the Corner and the Oliverian falls. A i'cw openings 
■were early made in the direction of IJriar hill, and still fewer 
to the east, and along the Oliverian, but for the most part 
the territory of the Town east of the river road was an 
unbroken forest at the opening of the present century. As 
long ago as 1830 there were only two or three clearings at 
I^ast Haverhill, and the expanse on whi<'h that village stands 
■was covered with primeval forest. Indeed the })oj)ulation in 
and around East Ha\ei-hill village has chiefiv grown since 
the railroad came in. From IN.'SO population mo\ed in the 



110 HISTORY OF HAVEIiHILL. 

direction of tlie east and north-east sections of the Town, 
though prior to tliat date 0{)enings were made in all parts of 
the Town. The growth of A\'oodsville has been quite recent, 
mainly within twenty-five years. 

And thus ^\ ith the growth and development of the Town 
from 1800 on, I continue the biographical sketclies of those 
who were most active in its public history and in its moral, 
educational and material advancement. Some names per- 
haps deserving a [)lace here may have escaped notice. Gen- 
erally the line has run along those who have been active in 
i)u!)lic matters, though others have been recognized on 
account of some special circumstance or characteristic. 

Timothy Noyes came to Haverhill from Portland, Me., 
and lived near the old Isaac Pike place. The exact date is 
not known. He had a large family, — fifteen daughters and 
one son. Timothy Xoyes and his son Person were the 
discoverers of the whetstone on Cutting hill, and Avere the 
first manufacturers of scythe-stones in Haverhill. One of 
Timothy Noyes' daughters married Capt. Henry Noyes, — no 
relation, — w^ho lived where Alonzo F. Pike now lives. Per- 
son Noyes' widow became the wife of Isaac Pike, and his 
son Perstm, (see Chap. XIX), Horace E. and K. H. Xoyes 
of East Haverhill are great-grandchildren of Timothv Xoyes. 

Benjamin XV^yes came from Landafi' in 1.S28. He was 
born in 1813, the son of David Xoyes, and his mother was 
a daughter of Col. Mark Fisk who connnandcd a regiment 
in the War of 1.S12. He married Mary C. Wheeler of 
Haverhill, and they had six children ; one, George, was 
killed at the battle of Gettysburg, and two sons are living in 
California. 

David AVeksteu was born in Plymouth, and was a son 
of Col. Webster of that town. He was high-sherift' of 
Grafton county from al)out ITs;') to ISOil. He lived in 
Haverhill for a few vears about the beginning; of the 
present centin-y, and is said to have built the Samuel T. 



1{ECE^"^ SETTLERS. Ill 

Page house. His sister lietsey married Moore Hussell. 
lie was known as " Capt. AN'ehster." 

Samuel C. AVebsteu, son of the aho\e, was aUo iii^li 
sheriff of (Jrafton county. lie o^iaduated from Dartujouth 
ColleLje in 1<S()8, and was admitted to the bar at Plymouth, 
and practiced there for many years. It does not appear 
that he ]>raeticed his profession after moving to llaverliilL 
He was Speaker of the House of Pepresentatives of Xew 
Hampshire in 1830, and was a man of a!)ility and iuHuence. 
He married (^itharine, daughter of Moore Pussell. He 
died in Haverliill in 1.S85. 

SxEriiEX P. Weijstku became a citizen- of Haverhill 
about the beii'inning of the ]»resent century, and built the 
Ileiuy ^Merrill house. He was a graduate from Harvard 
College and taught the Academy for a time. From 1805 
to 1835 he was clerk of the court for (iralton countv, and 
held many other public positions. He was moderator for 
many years, selectman, representative, and councillor in 
1-S2i). He was a man of nuich culture and urbaneness of 
manners, and of high character. Mrs. Webster was a 
woman of refinement, and was intimate, it is said, bv the 
second marriage of her father, with ]\Irs. President flohn 
Quincy Adams. She was a most devoted Cln-istian, and 
tradition says that she could always be seen going down 
Court Street on [jrayer meeting evening with her lantern in 
hand. Literally, she "let her light shine." She got up 
the Cent Society in Ibncrhill, and iusti-uctcd the collectors 
to " be sure and get tlie fifty-two cents, esjx'cially the two.''' 
She knew the weakness of some very good people to cut off, 
if they could, the two cents. She gave $500 as a perma- 
nent fimd to Haverhill Academy, but the money, it is said, 
was lost throu"h ncfi'lin-ence of the trustees. 

James P. Wehstek was a son of Col. Moses and 
Sarah (Kimball) A\'cbstcr. His father was a leading 
citizen of Landalf, and a biothcr of Stephen P. ^^'ebster. 



112 HISTORY OF HAVEKIIILL. 

He was })r()ininent in puhlic afF;iir.s, servini:; twelve years 
in sueeet-sion as moderator, for wliieh position, like his 
father, he had a natural talent. lie was a representative 
for two years. He married Kebeeea M. English. Their only 
cliild is jMrs. Eliza W. Kelluni. 

Joiix \. Webster, brother of James, was for many 
vears engaged in business in Haverhill. He earried on 
a tannerv at the Brook in eonij)any with James A. Currier, 
and afterwards was the agent of the Haverhill Paper Com- 
pany. He married Sarah Perkins of Lyme. Mr. Web- 
ster died a year ago. ]Mrs. David Quuiiby is a sister of 
the brothers AVebster, and the only survivor of Col. 
Moses Webster's ten children. 

Caleb Webster came to Haverhill from Gilmanton and 
was a merchant at Noi'th Haverhill for a number of years. 
He married Hannah Peaselee. One of their sons, Sydney, 
married the daughter of Hon. Hamilton Fish, Secretary of 
State under President Grant, and AVarren is a surgeon in 
the U. S. Army. ]Mrs. Webster is still living. 

Henry Barstow Avas born in Campton in 1787, and 
came to Haverhill about the beginning of the present cent- 
iny- He married for his fii'st wife Harriet, daughter of 
Capt. David \A\'l)stcr, and their daugliter Lydia married 
Merrill Pearson. His second Avife was Frances Pierce of 
Woodstock, Vt., and of their family, Frances is now Mrs. 
Benjamin F. Labaree of Hartland, Vt. Alfred, Anson and 
Gardner, (see Chap. XIX). Ellen married Henry ]M. 
Ketchum of Chicago. Dea. Barstow was prominent in 
tOAVu and church, and was a man of sterling worth in the 
community. He was a deacon in the CongTCgational church 
for many years, and was one of the earlier merchants of 
Haverhill. In 1840 he moved from Haverhill, going first 
to Claremont, and a few years later to Lowell, Mass., where 
he died. 

"\A''illia:\i Barstow, brother of Heni-y, was a clerk in 



KECP]N'T SKTTLKRS. 113 

Gen. M()nt<;()inerv's store for a time, and then })eeame a 
partner with his brother at the ohl Brick Block. He was 
appointed postmaster in 1841. Of his lar^e family, 
James is the only one now living in this vicinity. George 
W. and Charles W., (see Chap. XIX.) James represent- 
ed the town of Piermont in the legislature. 

Thomas Bakstoav, a younger brother of the above, 
was a clerk in their store. lie married a Miss Tarleton, 
sister of Amos Tarleton, and a daughter of theirs, Mrs. 
Jesse R. Squires, is now living with her mother on the 
Col. Johnston place. 

EzEKiEL H. Bakstow became a resident of Haverhill 
about 1860, and died soon after. He had retired from the 
active duties of a minister and was engaged in teaching in 
Newton, Mass., before moving to Haverhill. He was a man 
of superior worth of character. Mrs. B. survived him some 
years, and was a woman of most gentle and winning man- 
ners, of trained mind and excellent Christian influence. Of 
their children, Mary and John, (see Chap. XIX). Another 
son, William, is in business in Nebraska, and a younger 
daughter, Sallie, is a teacher in Portland, Me. 

Amos Hokx was a genius and a character, a shoe-maker 
by trade, and lived where Dr. Moses Carbee's house stands. 
His shop stood near the side-walk on the opposite side of 
the street. He was fond of dispute, with strong likes and 
dislikes, and was full of dry hiuiior. He went by the name 
of " Judge," and was in the habit of referring to his neigh- 
bors by sarcastic epithets. He was heavy and fat. In 
those days the shoe-maker furnished none of the stock. Dr. 
Carleton, after getting some shoes made at Horn's shop, sent 
his son for the "• waxed ends." Horn knowing the Doctor's 
great carefulness in " gathering up the fragments," and not 
willing to aid him in his economical purpose, unraveled the 
bristles before handing the '' wa,\ed ends" to the boy, 
saying, " Your father did not furnish the bristles." On 



114 HISTOKY OF HAVERHILL. 

anotlicr occasion he bought some salt pork of the Doctor, and 
when Horn's son went for it, the Doctor said, " Tell your 
father this pork was killed on the full of the moon, and it 
Avill swell in the pot.". Horn sent the boy back to ask the 
Doctor if he thought it Avould " bust the pot." Horn came 
on the stage near the beginning of this century. He was 
married in 1803. 

Nathaniel Wilson came to Haverhill in 1801 from 
Pelham at the age of twenty-four, and was the son of Jesse 
and Ruth (^Merrill) AA'ilson. His mother was a sister of 
Maj. Nathaniel ^Merrill, from whom he was named, and he 
was the ninth of a family of sixteen children. His wife was 
Sai'ah, the eldest daughter of Capt. Joseph Pearson, and 
thev had three children, Isaac P., Ann Maria, and Nathaniel. 
Isaac married Rhoda Brainard, and one of their sons is Geo. 
L. Wilson of Ladd street, and another is Edward B., (see 
Chap. XIX). Nathaniel, the youngest son of Nathaniel 
and Sarah (Pearson) Wilson (see Chap. XIX). 

Simon Toavle was born in Hampton in 1759. He 
afterwards moved to Chester, and married Eleanor Hall of 
that town, and came to Haverhill in 1805. Their children 
were Edward, Henry, Charles, Elizabeth, and Frederick. 
Frederick (see Chap. XIX). Elizabeth married Samuel 
Brooks and lived in Canada ; Charles married Lucy Bellows, 
a cousin of the late Chief Justice Bellows, and also lived in 
Canada;- Henry married Susan Pierce, and lived in Haver- 
hill, and of their children Antoinette became the wife of 
Horace Hunt, Simon married first Rebecca Parkhill of 
Florida, and then Harriet Hunt; James H. (see Chap. 
XIX). Susan Emily, the youngest, said to be a person of 
unconnnonly lovely character, died early. 

Edward, the oldest child of Simon Towle, was a select- 
man in 18 li). He was a large man, of conunanding 
presence, and for many years after the death of his father he 
kept the famous Towle stage tavern, the headquarters of the 



RECENT SETTLERS. 115 

court and lawyers after the days of the Joseph liliss tavern. 
He married Nancy ElHott of Chester, and of tlieir chihh'cn 
EHzabeth married Dr. Hiram Mori>an, Eleanor II. became 
the wife of George AV. Cliaj)man, Ann E. married George S. 
Towle, a lawyer and editor in Lebanon ; Cliarles S. died in 
Canada. Emily II., like her cousin Susan Emily, died 
voung, and like her was said to be a person of rare 
character. 

Simon Towle died soon after he came to Haverhill. He 
was a soldier of the Kevolution, a colonel of militia, and 
represented the town of Chester for several years in the 
legislature before coming to Haverhill. He was a man 
of unusual size, tall and of large frame, and weighed it is 
said four himdred sixty pounds. His ancestors were persons 
of massive size. Col. Towle was a much esteemed citizen 
of the Town, and was the successor of Asa Boynton in 
keeping tavern. 

Epiii;ai.a[ Kixgsju'RV, called " Squire Kingsbury," was 
a man of imj)ortance in the Town. He held numerous 
public positions, being town clerk and treasurer for a number 
of years, and was also a selectman. He was a member of 
the board of trustees of Haverhill Academy, and at one time 
j)rincipal of the school. He graduated from Dartmouth 
College in 17117, and afterwards read law, but it does not 
apj)ear that he was in active practice whilst living in Haver- 
hill. He moved from Town about l8o4, and went to 
Connecticut and thence to New York where he died in iSoa. 
He was a man of nmch ability, but somewhat eccentric, and 
was noted for extravagant speech and conduct. Once whilst 
the Methodists were holding tent-meetings on the park, and 
were more than usually demonstrative, Kingsbury went to 
the tent door and read to the meeting the riot act. At 
another time when a piece of road on the Oliverian, which 
had some stone wall in its construction, was to be accepted 
bv the Town authorities, he said in describing the character 



116 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

of the st6ne used in the wall, " I can put any three stone 
in it into my eye and wink with perfect ease." 

David Merrill moved to Haverhill in 1804, and settled 
on a tract of land north of Pool brook, which afterwards 
was the Town farm. He was at one time a selectman. He 
had a large family and one of his sons, David, was also a 
selectman. The oldest daughter, Abigail, was the mother 
of Chester M. Carleton, and Schuyler is still living at the 
age of eighty-six. Two of the hitter's sons were in the War 
of the Rebellion. 

Bexja:min Merrill came from AVarren in 1814. He 
was born in Plaistow, and married Sarah Haynes of Rumney, 
wlio was distinguished when a young lady for her remarkably 
fine voice. Capt. Merrill, as he was usually called, was a 
country merchant in Warren before he came to Haverhill, 
and continued in that business for many years after he moved 
into Town. He was a man of much sagacity and good 
judgment, with a large amount of quiet humor, and could 
be very reticent. On one occasion when keeping store in 
Haverhill, as he locked up to go home, he took a ham for 
family use. After going a few steps he found he had for- 
^■otten something, and laying the ham in a feed-box he went 
back. AVhen he returned the ham Avas missing. He said 
nothing, but some months after a man asked him in his store, 
*' Captain, did you ever find out who took your ham?" 
*' Yes, you are the very fellow ; walk up and pay for it." 

Capt. Merrill took an active part in public matters, was 
justice of the peace, a director in the Grafton County Bank, 
a selectman for several years, and pension agent. Of his 
children, Abel K. was the oldest. He fitted for college at 
Haverhill Academy, and was a member of the class of 1828, 
but was compelled to quit his studies at the end of the junior 
year on account of his health. He intended to devote him- 
self to the ministry. He was town clerk for some years, a 
director of the Grafton County Bank, and was also eng.aged 



RECENT SETTLEKS. 117 

in nierchantile business. For nearly fifty years he was 
superintendent ot" the Sabbath sehool of the (,\)n<freyati()nal 
chureh, and a deacon for nearly fifty years. He was a promi- 
nent and influential eitizen of the Town, and one of its most 
esteemed and well-known citizens. lie was also widely 
recognized in the county and state in chureh matters, and 
was a delegate from New Hampshire to the National Council 
of Congregational Churches in 1855, which met in Boston. 
He was a man of great purity of character, and a most kind 
and steadfast friend. Dea. Merrill was married twice, his 
Avives being sisters, the Misses Leverett of Windsor, At., 
and their children, Lizzie and three brothers (see Chap. 
XIX). 

Henry ^Merrill was educated at Haverhill Academy and 
also spent one year at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. 
He was postmaster for thirteen years, beginning his term of 
service under President Lincoln. His first wife's maiden 
name was Mary J. Weeks of Salisbury, Vt., and his second 
wife was Helen C. Currier before her marriage. Three of 
their children are living in Haverhill. Mr. Merrill is a 
prominent citizen of the Town, and a member of the board 
of trustees of Haverhill Academy. He is now engaged in 
farming. 

Arthur was educated at the Academy, and afterwards 
went to Jit)ston in the life insurance business. His health 
failing he afterwards returned to Haverhill, and died of con- 
sumption. His wife was Sarah Merrill of Plymouth before 
her marriage, and their children are all living in the \\'e8t. 
The youngest, a promising young man, died in Montana a 
few years ago. 

Harriet married Timothy K. Blaisdell. .Vnother daughter 
became the wifi^of Kev. Alfred Cioldsmith. Louisa married 
John L. Hunce. Ciiarlotte was the wife of Dr. Phineas 
Spalding. William (see Chap. XIX). 

John Meuuill was born in Warren, and was educated 



118 HISTORY OF HAVEKHILL. 

at Haverhill Academy, He was a real estate broker in Bos- 
ton for nearly fifty years. He married Mary C. S. Wells 
of Plymouth, and of their children three are living-, Mrs. 
Preston of Mcdford, Mass., Charles H., a merchant in 
Boston, and a son who lives with his mother in Haverhill in 
the Bell house. Mr. Merrill moved from Cambridge to 
Haverhill in 1874, and died suddenly a few years ago in 
Boston. He was of fine personal presence, and a most 
companionable man. 

Daniel F. Merrill was born in Stratham in 1812, and 
fitted for college at Hampton Academy. He entered Dart- 
mouth College in 1832, and graduated in course. After 
lea\ ing college he was princi[)al of Haverhill Academy for 
two years, and then his health failing he went to ^Mobile, 
Alabama, and was a successful teacher in that city for 
twenty years. During the last year of this time he was 
superintendent of public schools of Mobile, and also for 
several years he was school commissioner. iVfter his retire- 
ment from teaching he was superintendent of a copper mine 
in northern Georgia. In 18(iO he returned to Haverhill, 
and again was at the head of the Academy for several years, 
and also filled the office of school superintendent for the 
Town. He then went to Washington and Avas a clerk in 
the treasury department from 18G5 to 1886. He married 
Luella B., daughter of Jacob and Laura (Bartlett) Bell, and 
they had a family of six children. INIr. Merrill is a man of 
the highest character, and has filled a most useful and honor- 
able life. 

Tlaiothy a. Edsox was a leading citizen of Haverhill 
in the earlier years of this century. He was a selectman in 
1807, high-sheriff of Grafton county from 1813 to 1818. 
In 1824 he moved to Littleton where he died. His Avife is 
said to have been a woman of much character, bright in 
intellect and elejrant in manners. Mr. Edson was at one 



ItECEXT SETTLEIiS. 119 

time tlu' owner of tlic Hazen fanu iuid lived tliere for a 
Avliile. 

Bell Bkotiiehs — Joseph (see C'liai). XVII). 

Jacob Bell eame to Haverhill In ISII, at first enjian-in"' 
in teaching in the northern part of the Town, and then was 
a clerk in a store of (jen. ^Montiioinery, and with hif> brother 
James, who came to Haverhill ahout 1S80, encfajred in nier- 
chantile life, and did a very extensive business. They were 
also the owners of a large tannery and a potash factorv as 
Avell as a saw mill and a grist mill. James was the financial 
manager of the firm. South American hides were brought 
from Boston in hvrge quantities in exchange for leather and 
potash. About 1840 James Bell moved to Bolton, Mass., 
and died there in 1<S()4. He was n)arried twice and had a 
familv of thirteen children, seven of whom are livino-. 
Two daughters married McPhersons of Boston, distinguished 
decorators, who learned their art in London and K(linl)urgh. 
James AV. and John (see Chap. XIX). 

Mr. Jacob Bell continued to live in Haverhill till his 
death. Of his children, J. Leroy Bell, lives in Haverhill, 
and is a merchant. He enlisted in the War in 1N(;:>, and 
saw hard service in the campaign against Richmond from the 
battle of the Wilderness till the early autumn of 1SI)4. He 
was wounded several times, and was mustered out of service 
at the close of the war with the raid<; of caj)tain, having 
risen to that ])osition from a private. Capt. Bell's [iresent 
wife is the (huighter of Moses M. Weeks. The daughters 
of Jacob Bell, one married Hon. Ellery A. Hil)bard of 
Laconia, a prominent lawyer and formerly a Congressman, 
and the other is Mrs. Daniel F. ^lerrill of Washington. 

Noah Dwis was born in Connecticut about 17.^7, and 
came to Hanover where he was apj)renticed to a druggist and 
learned that business. Afterwards he settled in Haverhill, 
and was engaged in selling drugs and medicines, and also 
dry goods. He remained in Haverhill till 1<S2.'), when he 



120 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

moved to Albion, Xew York. Mr. Davis built the house 
now owned and occupied by George W. Chapman, Esq., 
and the little store where he sold goods stood on the south 
side of the lot. He married Freelove Arnold, and had a 
large family of children. Ilis eldest son, Noah, (see Chap. 
XIX). 

Morses. — Two brothers, John and Daniel, came to 
Haverhill about 1806 from Plymouth. A son of John is 
Rev. rroseph B. ]Morse (see Chap. XIX). A son of Daniel, 
Lafayette, lives on the homestead at Horse meadow ; an- 
other Daniel, father of Luther C. Morse (see Chap. XVII), 
lived at North Haverhill. The two Daniels were not related. 
Mr. Osgood Morse was the youngest son of John Morse of 
Horse meadow. Charles O. and Edward B. are sons of 
Osgood. 

Other Morse Brothers came from Hebron in 1824, 
and settled in the eastern part of the town which was then 
an almost unbroken wilderness. It is said there were five 
brothers. Jacob is still livinfj, and was a selectman and a 
representative in the legislature. Isaac was also a select- 
man and represented the Town several years. One of 
Jacob's daughters is the wife of George Wells of North 
Haverhill. 

Stephen Adams was born in Lexington, Mass., and 
came to Haverhill in the early part of the present century. 
His second wife was the sister of the late Michael Johnston. 
His oldest son, Charles J. (see Chap. XIX). Another son, 
Stephen, was a Methodist minister, and Abbie married 
Henry H. Wilder, a prominent business man of Lowell, 
Mass. Capt. Adams was a large man, tall and well built. 
He was captain of a horse company of militia, and was very 
fond of having himself addressed by his military title. The 
boys who were accustomed to go to his store to buy candies, 
would sometimes forget this point of civility, whereupon the 
Captain would disregard their wishes. When, iiowever. 



RECENT SETTLERS. 121 

they rciHOinbcrcd to call him by his proper military title, he 
was sure to reward their politeness with an extra sugar-plum 
and a pleasant manner. 

C'liESTEii Fakmax came to Haverhill in 1<S10 from Straf- 
ford, Conn., and settled near Pool brook. lie was engaj;ed 
in lumbering and mill building. In manners juid speech he 
was plain and unassuming, with a (piaint humor that agree- 
ably sj)ieed his conversation. He possessed great exeellenee 
of character, and was a man of strictest integrity. For 
manv vears he was a deacon in the Conofreofational church, 
and took an active and genuine interest in its welfare and 
support. On one occasion the church being in financial 
distress, he said, '' I wish I was rich, I would do so and so," 
and then repeated what the good Scotch woman said, "■ but 
I suppose the Lord don't trust me." He married for his 
second wife Lucy Stearns of Haverhill. Their only son, 
Jeremiah (lordon, married Cynthia Hastings Ladd, and 
lived in Haverhill till 1<S')2, when he moved to Ilartland, 
Vt., and afterwards to Claremont. The daughters of Dea. 
Farman were Miriam Sargent, and Anne Watson. A 
daughter of the former is the wife of William 15. Stevens of 
Bradford, \t. Of Jeremiah (lordon Farman's children, one 
married Sheron Howard, a lawyer of St. Johnsbury, Vt., 
Cynthia Hastings became Mrs. Fulton of Bradford, \t., 
J^linor Louisa married Leonard Cady of St. Johnsbury, Vt., 
and Samuel Ladd was for many years connected with the 
Clarcnioiit Paper Co., and is now li\ing at A\'hite Iviver 
Junction engaged in the paper business. He is the last of 
Dea. Farman's descendants bearing the Farman name. 

Pekley Ayek was born in Piermont in ITDS, and came 
to Haverhill in early youth. He was for many years the 
owner of what is now the county farm. He moved to the 
Corner in l>i58. He married Mary K. Worthen. A son, 
Phineas, graduated from Hartniouth Collcij'e in 1S.")2. A 



122 HISTORY OF HAVP]RHILL. 

grandson, Perley, is living with his aunt, Miss Eliza Ayer, 
on the homestead. 

Jeffers — James, Josiah, John — came to Haverhill 
about 1810, and settled in the eastern part of the town, A 
neighborhood in that section is now known as the " JefFers 
neighborhood," where some of their descendants still live. 
Several members of this family held public positions in 
To\v»u. They have been farmers, and Sylvester JefFers has 
for many years been a lumber manufacturer. 

Timothy Wilmot came to Haverhill in 1815, and of 
his large family Harvey B. (see Chap. XIX). Haron lives 
in Haverhill, Mary (Mrs. Daniel Sargent) in Cambridgcport, 
Mass., and Betsey (Mrs. Henry Tower), and Harriet (Mrs. 
Charles Snow) in Hudson, Mass. 

Michael Carletox was born in Newbury, Vt,, and 
came to Haverhill in 1812. He married Betsey Putnam of 
Newbury. They both died within a year, in 187 5-(). The 
oldest child, Michael, is living in Haverhill, and married for 
his first wife Louisa B. Kodgers of NeM'bury, Vt., and for 
his second Susan Cone of Guildhall, Xt. They had three 
children, Charles, Annie, and Bessie. The daughters mar- 
ried, one as his first, the other as his second wife, Frank D. 
Hutchins, cashier of the national bank, Lancaster, and a 
graduate ')f Dartmouth College. Sally Putnam married 
William H. J-^urbeck, and of their children, Edward C. and 
George (see Chap. XIX). »James lives in Concord; 
Walter, who married \bbie, daughter of Ezra S. Kimball, 
lives in Binghamton, N. Y. ; Mary and AVilliam O. are 
with their parents. The latter married (^arrie A. Blanchard, 
of Cumberland, Me., and was educated at Lancaster Acad- 
emy. A daughter of William H. Burbeck by his first 
marriage lives in Boston. Mehitabel B. married Levi 
Rodgers of Guildhall, Vt., and their children are Levi and 
Michael C. (see Chaj). XIX), and Harriet C. Betsey 
married Stephen J. Roberts and lives in Clartmont. Mary 



liECEXT SETTLERS. 123 

and Martha were twins, the former dyins; in LS')!!, the 
latter marrying El)en L. Kowell of Xewport. Harriet 
Newel died young. Horace D. married Mary P^liza ]\Iahu- 
rin, a woman of gentle manners and winsome character. 

C. U. M. WooDWAKi) lived for the greater part of his 
life in Town, and was an esteemed and most worthy man. 
In the early part of his life he wns a Methodist minister, and 
took a deej) interest in temperance reform. In his later 
years he was engaged in the manufacture of patent medi- 
cines. He married Sophronia Mudgett, a woman of superior 
mind and worth. ]\Ir. Woodward died a few years ago, 
and ]\Irs. \yoodward is living with a dauu'hter in Oransre, 
Mass. Another daughter married Dea. Samuel S. Shep- 
herd, Salem, Mass. 

George Woodward came to Haverhill from Springfield, 
Vt., about 188r), and purchased a farm at Horse meadow. 
His wife's maiden name was Xancy .V. Lake. Of their 
children George J. lives on the homestead, and Henry L. is 
a farmer at North Haverhill. 

HosEA SwETT Baker was a young man less than twenty 
years of age when he came to Haverhill about IMT, and 
was a descendant on his mother's side of Capt. John Love- 
well the famous Indian warrior. His mother died when he 
Avas an infant, and he came to live with an uncle in Pier- 
mont. Before he was of age he attended Haverhill Academy, 
earning money for that purpose, and fitting hin)self for 
teaching which he pursued for several years in Haverhill and 
in Rumnev. Afterwards he enfjaijed in the lumber business 
on the Oliverian. In 1825 he moved to the Corner and 
carried on for many years the meat business, and was also 
enn-afjed in the shoe and leather trade and general merchan- 
disc with Blaisdell & Co. The last thirty years of his life 
he followed farming at East Haveriiill. 

]\Ir. Baker was a man of excellent ability and good judg- 
ment, and of larrje intellif;encc. He was well known in all 



]24 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

this section of Grafton county, and was noted for his genial 
nature and love of conversation and anecdote. lie was 
probably the best informed man in Haverhill in its local and 
personal history, and took a deep interest in these pages, for 
which he contributed many facts and incidents. Fie was full 
of energy and entcr})rise, and was always ready to engage in 
whatever was for the good of the connnunity. 

]Mr. Baker held many places of trust and honor, — dcputy- 
sheriiF, captain of militia, postmaster, justice of the peace 
for forty years, selectman, representative, and trustee of" 
Haverhill Academy. He helped to organize one of the 
earliest Sabbath schools in Town, and was its superintendent 
for a time. He was also often in recpiisition in the settle- 
ment of estates, and in all these positions he acquitted himself 
with credit and fidelity. He was a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, and in religion a Methodist. He died in 1<S<S5 at 
the age of eighty-six years. 

He married Fanny Huntington of Hanover, and of their 
six children three are living. Peyton Randol[)h was a grad- 
uate of Dartmouth College in 1848, and practiced his 
profession in ^Vlaine. He died in 1873. Oliver Randolph 
Baker, a clothing merchant in Bradford, Vt., is a son of 
Peyton Iiandol[)h. Solon H. lives at East Haverhill. 
Oliver is in business in Kansas, and the daughter is married 
to Rev. Moses T. Runnels, a Congregational minister. 

St.Clairs sometimes pronounced Sinclairs. — Jonathan" 
and Sa:muel came to Haverhill about 1818, perhaps earlier. 
Jonathan kept tavern very soon after moving to Haverhill in 
the three-story brick house now owned and occupied by Dr. 
Spaulding. A daugiiter married Ezra Hutchins who became 
a prominent merchant in Boston. 

Samuel Sinclair lived on the turnpike about one mile from 
the Corner. 

Moses H. Sinclair was a nephew of Jonathan and Samuel. 
He was at one time jailor, and also served as moderator of 





^cc^€C' 




^ 



KECEXT SETTLERS. 125 

town-meeting, and was known as "Major Sinclair." He 
married IMary Burnliam of Runmey, and they had four 
children, two of whom arc living in Concord, — Henry and 
Nelson. As illustrating Maj. Sinclair's humor, a person 
of rather large feet wanted a pair of shoes made, — Maj. Sin- 
<'lair was of that trade, — and asked to know how soon he 
could have them. The Major replied, "That'll depend on 
the weather." " What," said his customer, " has that to 
do with it?" " Why," was the waggish answer, " I shall 
have to build them on the commons, as there is n't room 
€nough in the shop." 

Isaac Pike was born in 1799 in Cockermoutli, now the 
towns of Hebron and Grafton, and was the fifth child of 
Moses and Mary (Bell) Pike in a family of thirteen children. 
The Pike family came to this country as early as 1635, and 
settled on a ftirm in Salisbury, Mass., which is still in 
possession of descendants of the name. jVu early member 
of the family was a graduate of Harvard College, and was 
the first minister of the Con^reo-ational church in Dover. 
Nicholas Pike, author of the Pike arithmetic, very generally 
used in schools fifty years ago, was also of this family. The 
New Hampshire branch of the Pike family, consisting of 
several brothers, came to Coekermouth al)out 1785 from 
Dunstable, Mass, and the late Hon. Austin F. Pike, a sen- 
ator in Congress, was a grandson of the youngest of these 
brothers. A brother of tlie late senator lives at the Brook. 

Isaac Pike came to Haverhill about 1818, and settled in 
the east part of the Town, where, at the age of twenty, he 
cleared a ])iece of land and built himself a house. This 
house is now owned by Ivoyal II. Noyes. ]\Ir. Pike was 
married twice. His first wife was Irene Dole, and a grand- 
son, Samuel P. (see Chap. XIX). His second wife was 
Sally M. Noyes, and they had seven children, of whom four 
are living, — Mrs. John L. Ayer, Alonzo F., Isaac, and 



126 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Edwin B. Sarah ]\I. married Henry Smith, and a son, 
Frank A. (see Chap. XIX). 

Mr. Pike was engaged in farming, lumbering, and in the 
manufacture of scythe-stones, and till near the time of his 
death he was one of the most active business men in Haver- 
hill. He also was' a merchant, and at one time lived at the 
Corner, keeping store in the building afterwards used for the 
same purpose by Samuel F. Hook. 

In early times the timber and lumber of the upper Con- 
necticut was taken down the river in rafts. Mr. Pike ran 
large quantities of logs and lumber from Haverhill to Hart- 
ford, Conn. He also transported whetstones on his rafts, 
and hauled large quantities of them to Burlington, Vt., and 
then shipped them to New York by water. 

Mr. Pike was a man of great energy and enterprise, 
and was esteemed a strictly honest man. On several occa- 
sions he became much involved financially, but lie always 
refused the oifer to settle for less than the full amount. 
Courage, perseverance, and industry were prominent traits 
of his character, and his impulses were kindly and generous. 
He gave the oround on which the first church in East Haver- 
hill was built, and he was a willing and constant su])porter 
of its services. In personal appearance he was somewhat 
more than medium in size, with dark eyes and thick, black 
hair, broad shouldered, erect in form, and weiglied about 
two hundred pounds. He died of apoplexy. 

Alonzo F. Pike is the fourth child of the above, and was 
born in 1835. He is a self-made man, and early displayed 
the same business energy and courage of his father. Before 
he was of age he bought out his father's store and carried on 
the business for himself. At the time of Isaac Pike's death 
the whetstone business wa-fe in a very misatisfactory condition, 
and the estate being very much entangled, ]Mr. Pike, at the 
earnest solicitation of the mother and family, consented to 
act as administrator of the property, and by careful and wise 



RECENT SETTLEKS. 127 

niiinafjement he succeeded in unravelin[f the entaiitrh'ineiit, 
and settlin<«- tlie estate. Althoui^h his phins liad heen formed 
to enrjage in l)iisiness in the city,* lie now abandoned his 
purpose and entered into the business of his father. At that 
time the whetstone business was comparatively limited, but 
by great energy and industry it has now grown to be one of 
the most extensive plants in the state. Mr. Pike has been 
an earnest, indefatigable worker, and by 'close attention to 
his affairs, careful and prudent direction of his i)lans, and 
punctuality and integrity he has risen from a meagre begin- 
ning, and in the course of twenty-five years of his business 
life finds himself one of the most successful business men of 
the state. He has a sound and trustworthy business judg- 
ment. He is president of the A. F. Pike ^Manufacturing 
Company, and one of its principal owners. He resides at 
Pike Station, in a beautiful and sightly home whieh looks to 
the east on one of the finest scenes in all this region, having 
for the fore-ground the charming valley through which the 
Oliverian Avinds, with the foot-hills of Benton beyond, and 
back of these the grand outlines of ^Nloosilauke. 

Air. Pike married Ellen M. Hutchins, and has a family 
of five children living, and he owes much to a thoughtful and 
faithful wife for the large measiu'c of his success. He takes 
a deep interest in all matters of public concernment, afid is a 
generous and public-s[)irited citizen. He is a trustee of Ha- 
verhill Academy, and a liberal sui)porter o\' the chuirli. In 
looks he resembles his father, dark complexion, black eyes 
and hair, stocky in build, sijuare shouldered, strong and firm 
mouth, full head, the whole man in his j)hysique indicating 
energy and force of character. He is a most kindly and 
genial man, and hospitable in his home, still in tlie prime 
of life, turned a little of fifty-three years. 

Isaac and Edwin I>. are brothers of Alonzo E., and in 
business with him. Edwin P. lives at the Corner. His 
wife, recently deceased, before her marriage was Addie A. 



128 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Miner, and of their children two are living. Mr. Pike is a 
courteous and large hearted citizen, and a member of the 
Conffregational church. 

Charles W., son of Samuel Pike, has been a selectman of 
the Town, and Bvn'ns H., Charles J. and Oscar B. are sons 
of Drury Pike. 

A family of Pikes came to Haverhill in 1(S30, and were 
engaged in the manufacture of bricks at North Haverhill. 
Newhall was a selectman. 

Russell Kimball was born in Kingston in 1799, and 
came to Haverhill about 1818. He served as a clerk in 
Capt. Merrill's store for ten years and then became a partner 
with his employer. Their store was on Court street. He 
married Louisa Bean of Lyman, a sister of Samuel V. Bean 
who was at one time principal of the Academy, and a niece 
of Stephen P. Webster. Of their family only one child is 
living, Peabody AY. Mr. Russell Kimball gave himself 
strictly to his business and was successful in that direction, 
having accumulated at the time of his death a large property. 
He Mas an esteemed citizen. • 

Peabody W., son of the above, was born in 1834, and 
was educated at Haverhill Academy and at Newbury Sem- 
inary. He married Jane Pearson, and their two children, a 
dauofhter and son, are living at home. Mr. K. was a clerk 
in his father's store for some years and then became a partner 
•with him. After the death of his father in 1862 he retired 
from active business. He is a man of excellent ability, safe 
judgment, and sound sense. Being left with a large prop- 
erty which he has carefully managed, he is now one of the 
wealthiest citizens of Haverhill. His extreme diffidence has 
stood in the way of accepting public trusts for which his 
ability and integrity especially qualify him. He was, how- 
ever, a representative in the legislature for several terms, 
and has been for many years a trustee of Haverhill Academy. 
He is a deacon in the Conirrefrational church and has been 



KECEXT SETTLERS. 129 

superintendent of the Sahbatli school, in both of which he 
has always taken a deep interest. As a citizen and neighbor 
he is highly esteemed, and though a man of ample fortune 
he is entirely free from pride or ostentation. AVith his more 
intimate acquaintances and friends he is social and genial, 
and has a quick sense of the humorous. He is thoroughly 
devoted to his family. 

CiiAiiLES C. KiMHALL came to Haverhill in 1843, and 
of his five children four are living in Town, — John G., Geo. 
F., Albert F., and M. E. Morris E. Kimball was post- 
master at North Haverhill for twelve years. Charles M. 
lives in Newbury, Vt. 

James P. Brewer (see Chap. XIX). 

Southards, Mosp:s and Aaron, came to Haverhill in 
1822 from Walpole and settled on the Col. Porter farm 
which was divided between them, and which has remained in 
the Southard name ever since. They are descendants of an 
old familv that came to New Enjjland in the Mavflower. 
They were twins and were often taken for each other on 
account of their striking resemblance. Both were married 
before they came to Haverhill. Lyman M. is the only one 
of ]Moses Southard's family living, and he resides on the 
widow Currier farm. He married for his first wife Jane 
Bachup, and for his second a daughter of Dudley C. 
Kimball of Newbury, Vt. 

Aaron Southard's children were Samuel F., who occupies 
the old Porter homestead, .Foseph who died at nine years of 
age, Eliza, Ann Jane, and Kate. Two of tlie daughters 
married sons of Gov. Page, and one became INIrs. John N. 
Morse. The mother of these children is said to ha\e been 
a very superior woman. 

Moses and Aaron Southard were very successful in Ijusi- 
ness, and were amongst the leading agriculturalists of 
Grafton countv. They were hiirhlv esteemed citizens of the 



130 HISTOKY OF HAVERHILL. 

Town. Aaron was a Conofreofatioaalist and a jjenerous 
supporter of that faith. 

Samuel F. was only nine years of age when his father 
ni«jved to Haverhill. He received part of his education at 
Haverhill Academy, and is an intelligent citizen. He takes 
laudable pride in his beautiful and productive farm, and gives 
to it his entire attention, and like his father before him, he 
is a prominent agriculturalist. He enjoys the friendship) of 
the leading citizens of the Town, and is a man of integrity 
and character. 

Joseph B. Xiles lived in Benton before he moved to 
Haverhill about sixty years ago. Two sons, Alonzo F. and 
Horace L. (see Chap. XIX). 

Alexander Manson came to Haverhill about 1825, 
and was a blacksmith. Several of his sons followed the 
same trade. Two, Alexander and Charles, live in Exeter ; 
Mary and Lucy F. married Boswells, and Elizabeth, Mrs. 
George Kimball, lives in Black Kiver Falls, Wis. Mrs. 
Shepardson of East Haverhill is also a daughter. Mr. 
Manson had a brother die in California a few years ago who 
amassed a large fortune. 

John Mc('lary came to Haverhill in 1882 from Bristol 
where he was engaged in the tannery business with Gov. X. 
S. Berry. He was born in Xewburyport, Mass., in 171*2, 
and lived some years in Lisbon. Maj. Andrew McClary, 
who was killed in the battle of Bunker Hill, was an ancestor 
of his. At the breaking out of the War of 1812 yoimg 
McClary enlisted for one year, and at the expiration of that 
time he enlisted "for the war." In 1814 he was commended 
by officers to the attention of the War Department as a suit- 
able person to hold a commission in the regular army, having 
been sergeant major in the 45th Keg. of Vols., where he 
showed himself an efficient and faithful soldier. At the 
close of the war he returned to Lisbon, and afterward moved 
to Bristol. When he came to Haverhill he entered into 



RECENT SETTLERS, 181 

partnership for five years with the Bells at the Brook in the 
tanning business, and before the expiration of that time he 
was elected register of deeds for Grafton county, which office 
he held for live consecutive years. He also served one year 
by appointment of the county connuissioners to fill the 
vacancy caused by the resignation of B, F. Dow. He was 
a representative in the legislature in 1834—5, and took an 
active part in Town matters, being selectman and town clerk. 

Col. McClary was of Scotch origin, and belonged to the 
McClarys who settled in Epsom before the Revolution. He 
married twice, first liebecca Dodge of Lisbon, and after- 
wards her sister. Mrs. Silvester Reding is a daughter by 
the first niarriao-e. He was colonel of the 18th Rei^iment 
N. H. Militia, a man of intelligence, high character, jniblic 
spirited, and much esteemed by his fellow-townsmen. 

RiXEs. — " Maj. Rix," as he was called, moved to Haver- 
hill about 1825, and was a man of strong will and vigorous 
mind. He was noted for his facility in amplifying news, 
and had a very imaginative conception of things. 

John L., his son, was a prominent man in Town. In 
build he was slender, but active and wide-awake. He was a 
merchant, and was regarded as a man of integrity. He 
represented the Town in the legislature, and was a selectman, 
and had nuich to do with local politics, of which he was a 
shrewd master, and kept the run of details. He was also 
intelligent in regard to j)olitical movements. He was foi* 
many years a member of the Repul)lican state committee. 
As a citizen he was public spirited, and of generous impulses, 
fond of story, and a radical temperance man. Mr. Rix was 
a director in the B. C. t^c M. Railroad. 

Nathaniel Rix came from Littleton and was prominent 
in that town, having been a representative in the legislature 
from 1821 to 1827, and also a member of the governor's 
council in 1882-3. He moved to Haverhill about 1840. 
and took an active part in public matters, serving as select- 



132 HLSTOKY OF HAVERHILL. 

man and re[)resenting the Town in the legishiture. He was 
also register of deeds. 

John L. Bunce came to Haverhill from Hartford, Conn., 
about 1825 to take charge of the Grafton county bank as its 
cashier. Previous to this he held a subordinate position in 
the Phoenix bank of that city. After a service in Haverhill 
of some years he returned to Hartford as chashier of the 
Phamix bank, and continued in that position for many years 
until he retired and accepted the presidency of the bank in 
18(50. He was a man of scrupulous integrity and a careful 
financier. As a family man he was social and full of geni- 
ality, and fond of his friends. He had a special passion for 
fishing, and after banking hours whilst he lived in Haverhill 
he often drove out to Tarleton lake to try his hand at the 
rod and line for pickerel. He married for his first wife 
Louisa Gookin, and for his second Louisa Merrill. His 
children are living in Hartford, Conn., one son following the 
business of his father. 

Stowes. — Amos Stowe came to Haverhill from Spring- 
field, Vt., in 1825. He was born in Concord, Mass., and 
was a Revolutionary soldier. He died in 1829, and is 
buried at East Haverhill. 

Joseph Stowe, son of the above, came to Haverhill at 
the time his father did, and married for his second wife 
Priscilla Page of Landaff, and of their seven children 
William Page (see Chap. XIX). Joseph Stowe settled on 
the Xorth Branch of the Oliverian about a mile from East 
Haverhill village, Avhere he built a saw mill. Quite a story 
connects itself with the latter. ]\Ir. Stowe was a staunch 
temperance man, and refused to have rum at the raising. 
After the first section of the frame was up the gang of men 
wanted rum, and being refused they projiped the frame and 
quit Avork. For several days the country round was scoured 
before men enough could be o;ot to finish raising without 
rum. A part of this frame was afterwards used for the 



KECENT SETTLEKS 133 

building where George W. Ricliardsoii keej)?? store at East 
Haverhill. The class teacher remonstrated with ]\Ir. Stowe 
for his fanaticism, telling him that he would '' ruin the 
church and break up the Democratic party." Mr. Stowe 
was crier of the court and also a selectman, and whilst hold- 
ing this latter office he came near losing his life on account 
of prosecuting the license law and posting the names of forty 
counnon drunkards in Town. lie moved from Haverhill in 
1S42, and settled in Wisconsin. 

Kei)IN<4 Brothehs — John K. Kedinc; was born in 
Portsmouth in 1805, the son of a ship-master, and received 
what school education he had in the common school. After 
leaving school he served in a grocery store for a year and 
then entered the office of the New Hampshire Patriot, owned 
and edited by Hon. Isaac Hill, to learn the " art preserva- 
tive," where he remained till l<S2(i when he became foreman 
in the Boston Statesman office, afterwards changed to the 
Boston Post. He held that position for twcj years, and then 
came to Haverhill in 182'S. In July of that year he issued 
the first nundier of the Democratic Republican, and was its 
sole proprietor and editor till 1S41. The jtapcr was vigor- 
ously edited and influential. In 184U ^Ii-. Reding was 
elected to Congress, and served four years. He took his 
seat in the extra session called by President Harrison at the 
beginning of his ])residential term. The Democratic Repub- 
lican continued to be published by his brothers, ^Messrs. 
AVarren and Silvester, till the ])a|)er was suspended in 1<S()3. 
Mr. Reding was ap})ointed ])ostmastcr in fSol, being the 
fourth ])ostmaster of Haverhill, and held the office for ten 
years. He was also chosen to various town offices, serving 
as selectman, overseer of the poor, and town agent for build- 
ing the Town house. In 1840 he was a delegate to the 
National Democratic Convention in Baltimore that nominated 
Martin Van Buren, and in 1S.52 he served in th( same 
caj)acitv in the National Democratic Convention which j)laced 



l'')4 HISTOUV OF HAVERHILL. 

in noinination Gen. Pierce. For five years he held the office 
of naval store-keeper at Portsmouth, and in 18(50 he was 
elected mayor of tliat city, but declined a second term. He 
was a memher of the legislature for three years from Ports- 
mouth, and was chairman of the conunittee to select a site 
for the countv Ijuildinos and to Iniild the same for Kockino- 
ham county. He also engaged in farming, building, and 
other lines of business, in all of which he displaved energv 
and enterprise, and achieved large success. 

Mr. Reding moved to Portsmouth in 1853, where he now 
resides at a green old age, erect, (piick of ste[), and with 
mental powers unimpaired. He married Kebecca, the 
youngest sister of Hon. Isaac Hill, who died in Washing- 
ton. His second wife before her marriage was Jane Martin 
of 8t. Johnsburv, Xt. They ha^■e no children. 

Silvester was engaged for many years in the publication 
of the [)a})er his l)rother founded. He was register of deeds 
and represented the Town in the legislature. He married 
Ellen I)., daughter (»f Col. riohn McClary, and tiiey have 
four children. John (see Cliap. XIX). Mary K., Mrs. 
(jeorge F. Putnam ; Kllen, Mrs. George Butler, and ^^'il- 
liam, now a clerk in the Naval Office, Boston. Mr. Keding 
was an intelligent and esteemed citizen of the Town. 

Warren was also connected with the Democratic Ke[)ub- 
lican. He married Amelia C. Chandler, a woman of very 
su[)erior character, and their only child, Harry, is a graduate 
of ^\'ashi)urn College, Kansas, to which state Mr. R. moved 
about ISTO. He was postmaster at Centralia, Kansas, at 
the time of his death. 

Jonathan S. Nichols came to Haverhill in LS^JS, and 
engaged in the manufacture of carriages. He was also for 
twenty years agent of the Fairbanks Scale Company of St. 
Johnsbury, Yt., and traveled mostly in the South and West. 
Pie married for his first wife Myra, daughter of Gen. Mont- 
gomery. George E., Nellie P., and Clara I., (see Chaj). 



UKCENT sp:ttlkhs. 135 

XIX.) Mr. XiclioLs is one of IlaverhilTs most iiitclliui'iit 
ritizons, 

William C Mahstox is the son of Ca})t. David Mars- 
ton who was a ])roniinent and energetic citizen of Benton. 
^^'illianl (\, has l)een a selectman and a representative in the 
h'<i:islatiire. A daughter, Mrs. P^dward Brainerd, lives in 
Piermont. 

IIaywoods, I)EN.iaml\ and Xathamel. This is prol)- 
ahly the same name as Ilayward which a[>j)ear6 in the early 
history of the Town. The IIaywoods came from ^'ermont. 
^lathanieFs son, Alvah K., married a daughter of James 
Jefters, and of their six children five went West, and one is 
]\Irs. Solon H. Baker. Alvah E. was selectman and town 
clerk, justice of the ])eace, and captain of militia. 

AVaurexs, LiTiiEi; and (tEOUCJE. — The former was 
laruelv en<):aofed in the hind)er business. A daughter mar- 
ried a Congregational minister, and a son married a sister of 
A. F. Pike. The daughter of George Warren is jjromi- 
nent as a revivalist, and is a woman of mucli power and 
success as a speaker. She lives in Montana. 

Joxathax B. Powell came to Haverhill about LSoO, 
and was a prominent citizen of tlie Town, being selectman 
for several years. He was a man of much energy. In 1<S4<) 
he moved to Illinois, and of his large family some have made 
their mark in the world. Jonathan II., Chester, (seeChaj). 
XIX). 

Poswell Elliott's great-grandfather was om- of tlu' 
first settlers in Benton, and signed the call for the first town- 
meeting of that town. Poswell Elliott was a selectman of 
Haverhill in 1<S(;2. 

Timothy K. Blaisdell was an uncle of the late Daniel 
Blaisdell, and came to IIa\erhill about is;').'). He l>uilt the 
cottage parsonage house as it was before the recent altera- 
tions, and was a merchant. He was town clerk in 1<S8<S, 
and postmaster in 1841. Mr. Blaisdell married Harriet 



136 HISTOKY OF HAVERHILL. 

Merrill, daughter of Capt. Benjamin ^Merrill, and they had 
five ehildren. A son, Timothy, served in the War of" the 
Rebellion, and died at its elose. One of" the daughters be- 
came the w\i'e of William Blanchard of Chicago, a success- 
ful lumber merchant. Another married Charles H. Cram 
of Chi(;a<£o, a i>'raduate ol Dartmouth Colleo-e, and ;in 
accomplished gentleman, and fond of literature and rare 
books. He was engaged in the shoe trade, and died a few 
years ago. ]\Irs. Cram lives in Haverhill. Her oldest son, 
Nathan, a graduate of Dartmouth College, is supervisor of 
a division of the public schools of Washington, D. C., a 
daughter, Bessie, has spent two years in Germany, [)ursuing 
her education, a married daughter lives in Chicago. 

Cuttix(tS. — James and Ahi.tah came to Haverhill in 
l'S34 from Hanover, and settled near Pike Station. Of 
James' family John W. has been a selectman and a repre- 
sentative in the legislature. Abijalfs family moved to Iowa, 
and one of the sons, James A., (see Chap. XIX). 

WiLLL\.M R. Clakk married a daughter of Josiah Col- 
burn who was an eccentric man. Being asked about his 
relio^ious hope, said, "I've nothin"; to brao; of." On another 
occasion during his last illness, when a neighboring minis- 
ter called to see him, and after prayer at the bed-side, 
remarked that he must put his ti-ust in the Saviour, Mr. 
Colburn replied, " I'd sooner trust Him than an Injun." 

Henry H. Clark came to Haverhill from Bath, and 
was register of deeds four years. He was l)orn in Lyman. 
His education was piu'sued at Bath and at Newbury and 
Montpelier, Vt., fitting for college in 1871. Being pre- 
vented by sickness from entering college, he took a special 
course at Tilton Seminary. In 1<S72 he was a[)pointed 
head master of Seabiuy Institute, Saybrook, Conn., serving 
till 187(> when he resigned on account of health. Later he 
was princi])al of Bath Academy. He also served for several 
years as supei'intendent of schools in Bath, and was town 



KKCENT SKTTLEKS. 137 

clerk. He is now instructor in niatliematics in Dow Acad- 
emy, Franconia. Mr. Clark has taught with nuich success, 
and was one of the most efficient registers of deeds the 
county ever had. He married Annie E. Babcock of Gran- 
ville, Vermont, and they have two children. Politically a 
Democrat, religiously a member of the Congregational 
church. 

Sal:mon Fish came to Haverliill from Charlestown in 
1838. His name was changed to Fremont. Of the four 
children only one survives, Mrs. Osgood Morse. One of the 
sons, Sewall Lawrence, was a graduate of West Point. His 
early education was received at Haverhill Academy. He 
saw military service in the Seminole "War, and afterwards 
took part in the Mexican War, coming out of it with the 
rank of captain. In 1855 he resigned his commission and 
engaged in building railroads in North Carolina. During 
the Rebellion he held high position in the engineer depart- 
ment of the Confederacy. At the close of the war he en- 
gaged in civil pursuits, and later he was employed by the 
government in superintending the construction of ])ublic 
buildings. He died suddenly a year or two ago whilst in 
charge of the buildings in Memphis, Tenn. Col. Fremont 
was a man of fine presence and high character. 

Smiths — Eleazek Smith was born in 171)7 in ^^'ash- 
ington, Vt. His father lived to be ninety-three years old. 
Eleazer moved to Haverhill m 1838, and was for twenty 
years tlie proprietor of Exchange hotel, but which under his 
management and that of his s(ni was known as Smith's hotel. 
He afterwards moved to Wentworth and kept a hotel there 
for thirty years. In early lite he was one of the drivers on 
the Concord and Haverhill stage line. He married Anna 
Peters, whose father was a prominent and honored citizen of 
Bradford, Vt., having held the office of town clerk for over 
forty years. They had two children, Charles (loudy and 
\\'illiam Peters. The latter was killed by the over-turning 



138 IIISTOKY OF HAVERHILL. 

of a stage coach. Charles G. lives in Haverhill. In boy- 
hood days he spent several years in Lyndon, Vt., and also 
for a few years he was a clerk in a store in Charlestown, 
Mass., after which he retnrned to Haverhill and was associ- 
ated with his father in the hotel bnsiness. In 1853 he was 
appointed a clerk in the Portsmouth Xavy yard, and held 
that position for three years, when he purchased the hotel of 
his father and continued in that business till 1881. 

Mr. Smith has taken a prominent and influential part in 
public afl'airs in Town and county. At twentv-one years of 
age he was chosen town clerk, and he was a re[)resentative in 
the legislature for two years. In 1868 he was ap[)ointed bv 
the legislature one of a committee of five to act in conjunc- 
tion with the county commissioners in purchasing a county 
farm for (irafton county. Later, in a town meeting called 
for the purpose of relieving the Town from financial embar- 
rassment, he advocated a plan for funding the Town debt, 
which was adopted, and he was chosen trustee of the sinking- 
fund to meet the bonds as they l)ecame due. He has repeat- 
edly been chosen a selectman and moderator, and for six 
years he was county commissioner, during which time he 
had the immediate superintendence of rebuilding the poor- 
house buildings which were burnt in the last term of his 
commissionershi[). 

In addition to these political positions of trust and honor, 
he was ;dso a trustee for twelve years of the Bradford 
savings bank, and for a time its president. He has been f()r 
many years a trustee of Haverhill Academy, and at onetime 
president of the board. In all these positions he has brought 
to the discharge of his duties faithfulness, good judgment, 
and commendable prudence. His manners are plain and 
reserved, and his mode of life unostentatious. He is a man 
of few words. In all ])roper matters for the improvement of 
society he is j)ublic spirited and always ready to join his 
fellow-townsmen in such matters. He is often called u[)on 



HP:rKNT SKTTLKIIS. IHil 

tor ;i(l\ici' hy tli(>.><e who ilit^triLst their own jud^iuent in rcg'itrd 
to pnicticiil mattcrfi, and has proved himselt" a safe and pru- 
dent eounsellor. lie has the e(»nfidenee of his fellow eitizens. 

Mr. Smith nian-ied for his tirst wife, Kuth Morse, a 
descendant of one of the early settlers of the Town. His 
second wife was Charlotte S. Dow, a dauuhter of the late 
B. F. Dow. There are two children hy the tirst niarriafje, 
William P., and Anna M. 

Aloxzo AV. PiTXAM came to, Haverhill from H;inover 
in iSoD. He was an uncommonly active man. His son 
Parker and another son live in the AA'est. The home farm 
is now owned l)y Mrs. Putnam and two of the sons. 

Cr.M.MiX(is Pkotiieus — William H. Cimmings was 
horn in IcSlT in New Hami)ton, and is a descendant of 
the old C'unnniniis family of Dunstahle. He received his 
education in the conunou schools. For a few years he was 
a clei'k in a store in New Chester, and later he hecame a 
partner in the store. Afterwards he went to LisI)on and 
Avas a clerk in a store for a year, and then ;d)out 1840 he 
came to Haverhill 'and was in company with flohn Ij. Rix. 
He lived in Ha\erhill about ei<iht years, and then returned 
to Lisl)on, where he en^'agXMl in the business of merchan- 
dising- and lunil)ering in the firm of Allen i!c Cununinirs, 
and has lived there ever since, heinji' closely identified with 
the ii'rowth and conunercial interest of the place. 

Mr. CHimmin<2;s is a prominent citizen of Lisbon, and has 
held public [>ositions, Ijeinij a representative in the legisla- 
ture, a state senator, a delegate to the national convention 
that noininate(l (Jo\-. Tilden for the presidency. He has 
i)een |)resident of Wells Hiver national bank since 1(S7H, is 
a sound and careful financier, and has l)een very successful 
in business. He is a man of industry and energy. He 
married Harriet Sprague Kand, sister of the late fludge 
Kand, and of their three children a son is dead, and the 
daughters live at home. 



140 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Stephen H. Cummin(;s, brother of the above, came from 
Ligibon, as register of deeds in 1871, and held that position 
for three years. He was postmaster, town clerk, and super- 
intendent of schools in Lisbon, and also selectman for five 
years in Haverhill. Only one of his own children is living, 
Mrs. Worthen of Brooklyn, N. Y. A son of his second 
wife, Arthur ]\Iitchcll (see Chap. XIX). An older son 
was eminent in his profession in the Sandwich Islands, and 
physician to the king and queen. He died a few years ago^ 
in Florida. Mr. Cunmimgs is an intelligent and esteemed 
citizen. 

Caleb Hunt came to Haverhill about 1<S40. He was a 
man of strong mind, but his educational advantages in early 
life were limited. He married a ]\Iiss Poole, and they had 
five children. For Caleb, Horace, Prescott and Helen, (see 
Chap. XIX). Louisa married James Woodward of Ladd 
street. 

Jackson Brothers moved to Haverhill from Coventry 
about 1840. Samuel Jackson, the grandfather, was a 
soldier in the Kevolution before tlie organization of that 
town, and was its first selectman. He was a well educated 
man. Two of his grandchildren, Thos. B. and John W., 
settled in Haverhill. Both were educated at Newbury Semi- 
nary, and the former has represented Haverhill in the legis- 
lature. 

Timothy R. Bacon came to Haverhill in 1840. Aiii 
older brother, Asa, came earlier. Several of the former's- 
children have been prominent in business, (see Chap. XIX).. 

Daniel Batchelder was born in Corinth, Vt., 18()o,. 
and lived for many years in Benton, where he was a pronn- 
nent citizen, representing that town in the legislature for 
seven years, from 1838 to 1881). He was captain of a com- 
pany enlisted for the ^Mexican War, but resigned before the 
company went to Mexico. He was a captain in the 
18th Res. N. II. Militia. About 1840 he came to Haver- 



RECENT SETTLERS. 141 

hill, and was a deputy sheriff, and pursued the business of 
an auctioneer, in which he displayed tact and talent, some- 
times making; sharp hits at the expense of others. 

Joiix VoSE Beax was Principal of Haverhill Academy 
during the time it was run as a ladies' school in 1849. He 
was a oraduate from Dartmouth C^illeije in 183^, and was a 
man of ability and high character. Whilst living in Haver- 
hill he was a deacon in the Consrejjational church. His 
Avite's name before her marriage was Caroline Graham, and 
of their children Ellen (Mrs. Baker) alone is living. Isabel 
married Hon. Otto Kirchner, a distinguished and able lawyer 
of Detroit, ]Mich., who for four years was attorney general 
of that state and also a lecturer for a time in the law school 
of the University of Michigan. The oldest daughter of 
the Bean family, Caroline, married Dr. George Page, son of 
Gov. John Page. Mr. Bean moved from Haverhill in 1854, 
and died in 18(51. Mrs. Bean survives him, and with her 
daughter, Mrs. Baker, lives in Detroit, J\Iich. 

Bailey Brothers. — Five brothers, descendants of Gen. 
Jacob Bailey of Newbury, Vermont, came to Haverhill, 
three of them about 1850, and two later. Albert and 
Nathaniel were merchants at the Brook and did a large 
business. They followed the same occupation at Topsham, 
Vt., before coming to Haverhill. Nathaniel afterwards 
eno-aoed in farming on Ladd street. Albert moved to Brad- 
ford, Vt., and became one of the most successful, and 
prominent citizens of that town. He died suddenly in 
Boston. He married Isabella Blake of Topsham, and their 
only living child is Mrs. Chamberlin of l)radford. Milo was 
at first a clerk in the store of his brotliers and afterwards a 
partner. He was also a merchant at the Corner. He mar- 
ried a daughter of Samuel Page. Azro and Allen came to 
Haverhill later, and were ftirmers on Ladd street, the latter 
afterwards enga<>ing in merchantile business with his brothei- 
Milo. Nathaniel Bailev married the widow of his brother 



142 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Allen. Aznj inarried Hannah Lang of Bath, and of their 
large family some remain in Haverhill, others have gone 
West, one of the sons lives in Boston, anil one is a railroad 
engineer in ^Mexico. Nathaniel was a selectman and a re[)- 
resentative in the legislature. Albert also was a representa- 
tive. Mr. Xathaniel Bailey is a man of means and lives in 
retirement, and is an esteemed citizen of the Town. 

Charles A. Galp: came to Haverhill from Gilmanton 
in 1850, and has lived on his present farm since that time. 
He was a representative from Haverhill in the legislature in 
1875— (>. A son, Charles A., lives at Woodsville. 

Darius K. Davis moved to J^ast Haverhill form Xorth- 
field in 185(k He was a partner in merchantile business 
with two of his brothers, and continued in trade with them 
or by himself for over twenty-five years. At different times 
he was interested in stores at Warren, Tilton, Pike Station, 
and at Indianapolis, Ind. He was a selectman in Benton 
for two years, and is now a member of the board of educa- 
tion. He has been successful in the l)ee and honey business. 

Levi B. Ham came to Haverhill in 1851 and was 
engaged for about twenty-five years in the stove and tinsmith 
business. He has been deputy sheriff, representative in the 
legislature, town clerk, and selectman. He has two chil- 
dren living, a son in Boston and a daughter at home. 

Currier I^rothers moved to Haverhill in 1852, and 
carried on the tanning business at the Brook. James A. 
was a selectman during the War. F. P. Currier has a 
family of three daughters. 

Augustus Whitney came to Haverhill as register of 
deeds about 1855. Afterwards he was mail route agent for 
eight years between Springfield, Mass., and Newport, Vt. 
Mr. Whitney was a professional vocal music teacher, and 
was one of the best drill masters in that art. He was a man 
of intelligence, and catholic in his views. He married a 



HECENT SETTLERS. 143 

Miss Currier of Wentworth. A daughter lives iu AN'innc- 
peg, Manitoba, and devotes herself to music. 

Grove S. Stevens came from Piermont to Haverhill in 
1856. He is a deacon in the Congregational church, and 
was for ten years high sheriff of Grafton county, and 
previous to that he was deputy sheriff. Of his family of 
five children the son is a lawyer in Littleton, and three of 
the four daughters married lawyers — Mrs. Charles A. Dole 
of Lebanon ; ]\lrs. J. L. Foster of Lisbon, whose husband 
is a graduate of Dartmouth College, and Mrs. Morrill of 
Contoocook. A daughter, ]Mary, is at home. She was for- 
merly a successful teacher in Arlington, ^Nlass. 

George W. Stevens lived just south of the Piermont 
line. He was a deacon in former years in the Congrega- 
tional church in Piermont. His son George H., lives on the 
homestead, and a daughter married Luther Holt of Lowell, 
]Mass., a retired iron manufacturer. 

Enoch K. Weeks came from Warren about isli, and 
has been a merchant at North Haverhill. He has held the 
position of town clerk for a numl)er of years, and is now 
j)ostmaster at that })lace. One of his daughters is Mrs. 
Charles P. Page of the firm of W. H. Page & Son. 

Moses M. Weeks moved from Path in 1877. He 
married Sally Minot of Path, and of their two children 
living one is ]\Irs. J. LeRoy Pell, and a son carries on the 
farm. Another son, a yoimg man of most excellent traits, 
died a few years affo. 

J. G. Blood came to Haverhill about twenty-five years 
ago, and is engaged in the manufacture of pre})are(l lumber 
and shingles at the old Swasey mill. He married Elizabeth 
AVetherbee. 

WiLLL\.Ai H. Nelson first moved to Haverhill about 
18(i0, and was a merchant at North Haverhill for ten or 
twelve years, Avhen he went to Lawrence, Mass., and en- 
gaged in the same business there. After a few vears he 



144 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

returned to Haverhill, and carried on the business of general 
merchandising till his death about a year ago. He had a 
large family of children, most of whom are married. Mrs. 
W. H. Brock of South Newbury, Vt., was a daughter; 
another married Charles F. Bailey of INIinneapolis ; one 
became Mrs. Scott Sloane of Wells Kiver, Vt. ; another, 
Mrs. Hazen of St. Johnsbury, Xt. ; a daughter married, and 
nntil her recent decease, lived in the Sandwich Islands ; a 
son is in California, and a younger son in Dartmouth Col- 
lege. Mrs. Xelson now lives in Lawrence, jNIass., and is a 
women of much ability and noble character. 

Joseph Powers was born in Groton, the son of William 
and ]Mary (Thompson) Powers. In early life he was a 
teacher. Subsequently he mo^•ed to Plymouth, and whilst 
there he was appointed high sheriff of Grafton county. He 
lived in Haverhill after he became sheriff. From 1<S71 to 
1873 he was a member of the governor's council, and in 
that position he served wnth much acceptance. He was a 
member of the constitutional convention in 1876. He owned 
the farm at North Haverhill where his niece, Mrs. Filley, 
now lives, and on this farm the first Jersey cows in Haver- 
hill were kept, and in later years the herd was one of the 
finest in the state. (See Chap. XXI.) He was a man of 
strong character and large ability, and was held in high 
esteem by those who knew him. He was a staunch temper- 
ance man. He married Betsey Blood. Mr. Powers died in 
LS71). 

Meaders came from Warren where the family was nu- 
merous. Daniel W. went to Pennsylvania and was engaged 
with a brother in constructing railroads. Afterwards he 
lived in California. He returned to Haverhill in 1865, and 
enoao-ed in the manufacture of starch. He was a selectman. 

Charles B. Griswold came to Haverhill as register of 
deeds in 1867, which office he held for five years. After the 
expiration of his term of office he was engaged for several 



UECEXT SETTLEIIS. 145 

3'ejirs in the cotton and lumber business in Texas. Since 
1<S74 he has been the efficient clerk of tiie su[)renie judicial 
court for Grafton county. He married Alzina M. Sawyer, 
of Malone, X. Y. They have one child, a graduate of 
Dartmouth College, who has just been admitted to the bar. 

Andrew Jacksox Edgekly was born in Barnstead in 
1828, and worked on a farm till he was sixteen years old, 
when he entered the Amoskeag manufacturing company's 
Avorks at Manchester to learn the machinists' trade. He 
also continued at this business in Boston, and in Biddeford, 
]\Ie., and then returned to Manchester. In 18G1 he enlisted 
men for the 3d liegiment X. H. Vols., and again for the 
4tli Regiment, in which he was appointed second lieutenant 
of Co. E. He was in the expedition against Port Royal, 
S. C, and soon after was promoted to be first lieutenant. 
Whilst inspecting the picket line he received a severe wound 
by the falling of his horse, and was sent home on recruiting 
service. In March, I8G0, he was dishonorably dischai'ged 
"for circulating copperhead tickets and doing all in his 
power to promote the success of the rebel cause in his state." 
He rested under this stigma for a number of years, l)ut the 
case being carefully investigated by the military committee of 
the House, a bill passed both branches of Congress fully 
exonerating him, and giving him an honorable discharge 
from March, 1863. Lieut. Edgerly was a representative in 
1874, but declined a renomination. He also held the posi- 
tion of adjutant general of the state under Gov. Weston. 
He married twice, first, Ann Eliza Williams of ^Mansfield, 
]\Iass., and then Sarah Crocker Carr of Haverhill. A 
daughter by the first, and a son by the second marriage, who 
is a senior in Tufts College. Lieut. Edgerly secured his 
education at the common schools, is a Mason, and came to 
Haverhill in 18(33. 

Caleu Wells came to Haverhill from Benton in 1868, 
where he held the position of school superintendent for 



146 HISTORY OF HAVEKHILL. 

seventeen years. He was also a representative in the legis- 
lature from that town, and served as selectman and as a 
justice of the peace. He has been a selectman of Haver- 
hill, and is now a member of the board of education. 

Charles H. Day came from Bristol as register of deeds 
in 1878. He held that" office for four years. Before moving 
to Haverhill he was deputy sheriff for a short time. 

K. D. Tucker came to Haverhill in 1880, and the year 
following he built the handsome Tucker house on South 
]\Iain street. Before movin"; to Haverhill he was enaaired 
in the manufactory of axletrees in Philadelphia, and previous 
to that he was sujierintendcnt of the New York t^ Flushing 
railroad. He was a man of thorough business habits, and 
Avas enterprising and puldic spirited. He died suddenly in 
1888. His wife before her marriage to him was jNIrs. 
^Morris Locke of Xew York. 

The influx of population at the extreme north-west corner 
of the Town, Woodsville, has chiefly taken place since the 
Boston, Concord & Montreal railroad was built to tliat point, 
and both population and valuation have rapidly increased 
Avithin a few years. But as early as 1830 John L. Woods 
l)egan the manufacture of lumber near the mouth of the 
Anunonoosuc, and carried on an extensive business for many 
years. He married Mary Nancy, daughter of Obadiah 
Swasey, and their son John L. (see Chap. XIX). 

Luther Butler settled in this part of the Town about 
the same time. His early years were spent in Bath. He 
was a stone mason by trade, and worked on the Quincy 
market, Boston. He also built the Anunonoosuc bridge at 
Woodsville. He was a selectman and justice of the peace. 
His wife's maiden name was Abigail Chamberlain of Bath, 
and three of their children are living — Mrs. Maria Hibbard 
of Brooklyn, Iowa, and a son, George C, lives on the 
homestead. Mr. Butler died in 1885. The youngest 
daughter, Alice, married and lives in Xew Jersey. 



KECEXT SETTLERS. 147 

CiTAiiLEs B. Smith niamifactured shovel IijukUcs for 
iSome years, when in 1878 his phmt was carried away by a 
freshet. He ijave the lot for the Episco])al church, and ^vas 
postmaster from 1878 till 1880. A son, George F., is a 
railroad conductor. 

Joiix L. Davis was one of the builders of the Mt. 
Washington railroad, and ran the first engine to the sununit. 
He built the Mt. Gardner house and ke[)t it for several years. 

Ika AViiitctieu came from Benton where he was a prom- 
inent man in business and in town matters. He was a 
representative for six years, county commissioner for a like 
term, and a member of the constitutional convention in 
1851. He has been extensively engaged in the lumber busi- 
ness since he came to AVoodsville, and has been a selectman. 
He married Lucy Royce, and of their four children a son 
(see Chap. XIX), and a daughter, ]\Irs. Chester .Vbbott of 
Woodsville. David AVhitcher of Xorth Haverhill, and 
Daniel AVhitcher of Bath are brothers of Ira. 

C. M. Weeks came from Vermont about 1858, and 
took an active part in Town matters. He was a merchant; 
represented the Town in 1868—9, moderator a number of 
times, county treasurer in 1883. He was a man of nuich 
energy and force. He now lives in Lowell, Mass. 

Enoch G. PARKEPt came from Xewbury, Yt., in 1873, 
and engaged in the hotel business. Air. Parker is an ener- 
getic man, and was selectman and moderator. He now lives 
in AVells liiver, Vt. 

Other active and enterprising men worthy of more ex- 
tended notice have come into Woodsville from time to time, 
and have given im[)ulse to the growth and business of the 
l)lace. 

EziiA B. AIanx has been a representative. Came from 
Benton ; druggist. 

Edward F. Manx, brother of the above, now assistant 
superintendent of B. & L. K. K. Has been a state senator 



148 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

and represented Benton in the legislature ; passenger con- 
ductor on B. C. & M. 11. R, for twelve years. 

George S. Cummings came from Ashland, druggist, 
now the oldest male resident in the place. 

Joseph P. Kimball, Ezra S. Kimball, George C. 
Butler, and Henry F. King were born in Town. Mr. 
Butler has a stock farm of high grade Durhams. Mr. 
Joseph P. Kimball has a large dairy of high grade Jerseys. 
Henry F. King is a wool grower, and has been selectman. 

Benjamin Dow came from Lyman, dealer in live stock, 
stock breeder of cattle and Norman horses. 

Langdon Bailey came from Lisbon, carriage maker. 

George A. Davison whose sudden death recently has 
been such a sad loss to business and social circles, came from 
Sutton, Canada. He was station agent, and clerk and treas- 
urer of Woodsville Water Co., a prominent Odd Fellow, 
and w^as district deputy for this portion of the state. 

Samuel B. Page (see Chap. XVIl). 

George F. Smith came from Belfast, Me., passenger 
conductor. 

David A. French came from Warren, teacher of music. 

Charles R. Gibson came from Alstead (see Chap. 
XVIII). 

Oliver D. Eastman came from Topsham, Yt. (see 
Chap. XVIII.) 

Chester Abbott came from Bath ; in Woodsville lum- 
ber company. 

Edgar B. Miller came from Ryegate, Vt. ; merchant. 

Seth p. Stickney came from Lyman ; merchant. 

Truman W. Glover came from Newbury, Vt. ; mer- 
chant. 

George Emeiiy came from Ashland ; assistant post- 
master. 

Isaac K. George came from Bristol ; proprietor of 
Hotel Brunswick ; formerly superintendent of county farm. 



KECENT SETTLERS. 14D 

Melvin J. Mann came from Benton ; in employ of 
railroad for twelve years, passenger conductor for the last 
five years. 

G. H. Mann in employ of railroad fifteen years, freight 
and passenger conductor for last twelve years. 

Will H. Moore came from Xorthfield ; one of the 
oldest engineers on the road. 

George E. Cummings, son of George S., passenger 
conductor on B. C. & M. R. R. for three years, wood agent 
two years, agent for White Mountain Division B. & L., and 
now train master at AVoodsville. 

D. L. Hawkins came from Bath, leased the Parker 
House in company with S. E. Nutting, and kept it for twa 
years. House is now owned by O. D. Johnson, and kept 
by Johnson & Hawkins. 

A. H. Leigiiton & Co. — Albert H. Leighton and 
Quincy A. Scott. Mr. Leighton came from Bath ; ]\[r. 
Scott was conductor on Passumpsic railroad, rose from train 
boy. Firm established 1875. With the exception of tiie 
drug store, the oldest store in the village. !Mr. Scott also 
manufactures society uniforms and regalias. 

The population of Woodsville is mostly composed of 
young and middle-aged persons, wide-awake and full of push, 
who have given to the [)la('e its live and energetic character, 
and placed it on the highway of still greater prosperity. 
And with the s[)lendid water-power at this point, which is 
unlimited, and the fine railroad facilities, few places in New 
England are more hopeful of becoming great manufacturing- 
centers than AYoodsville. Her citizens are well deserving 
the gratifying success which has followed their enterprise and 
jniblic spirit. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

TOWN AXD PROPRIETORS' RECORDS FROM 1763 TO 1800. 

Fii>t Town and Proprietors' Meeting— First Town Officers— Committee of Survey 
— Layinj? out of Lots— Drawing Lots — First Annual Town Meeting— First f ul 1 
List of Town Otlicers — Town Expenses — Pound — Wages for Town Worlv — 
Record Book — Danger of Wild Animals — Small Town Expenses — First 
Treasurer — Deer Reaves — Grant of Mill Privilege — Taxes Abated — Care of 
Imbecile — Census — Burial Places — Law suit — Town Meeting Places — Waif- 
First Town-order for Aid — Legal Tenders— First Vote for Congressman and 
Presidential Electors — First Representative — First Vote for Governor and State 
Senator — Troublesome Persons — Special Choice of Selectmen — Question of 
Conscience — Tra\'eling on the Sabbath— Small Pox — Old Debt— Care of Poor. 

The first Town meeting was to be held on tiie second 
Tuesday of June, which as we learn from the Proprietors 
Records was June 13th. This date was fixed by the charter 
which also directed that the meeting was to be " notified by 
Oapt. John Ilazen " who likewise was appointed to be its 
moderator. From the Proprietors' Records it appears that a 
Proprietors' meeting was lield at the same time and place. 
This meeting like the Town meeting was appointed by the 
charter, and was also to be "notified" and presided over by 
Capt. John Hazen. The Proprietors chose Town oflficers as 
follows : — Jesse Johnson, clerk ; Stephen Knight, constable ; 
and ('a])t. John White, James Bailey, Esq., and Maj. P2d- 
miind ]\Iorse, selectmen. The only other business which 
was transacted at tliis meeting was the choice of a commit- 
tee '"fully authorized" to "bound out" the Town, and 
" lay (nit one lot to each j)roprietor's share in the interval, 
and one other lot of upland, so as to commode [accommo- 
date] the settlers." This committee consisted of Capt. John 
Hazen, John White, James Bailey, Esq., Robert Peasley 
and Benjamin Morse, and they were directed to enter ujion 
their duty at once after the town of Xewbury was laid out." 
From this it may be inferred that the committee had some- 
thing to do with laying out Newbury as well as Haverhill, 
which was quite likely the fact, as the two leading spirits in 



EAKLV TOWX KECOIIDS, 151 

securing the cliartei's of the.'se towns were ('apt. 1 la/en ami 
Gen. Bailey, and a nuniher of" the proprietors of both towns 
were the same. Aeeordingly the same conunittce and sur- 
veyor would answer ft)r both towns. At a subsecjuent meet- 
ino; the eonnnittee made their report which Avas acce}>ted 
by the l^roprietors, and wei learn that AA'illiam \\'hitin<i- 
who seems to haNC Ijcen the surveyor, was voted '* 4 
shillings per day for his services in laying out the Town of 
Haverhill in Cowass." [Cohos.] 

The Proprietors subsequently ap])ointed a committee whose 
duty it was " to lay out 100 acre lots to each right," and 
also another committee for the piu'pose of drawing these lots. 
During the next few months there seems to have been some 
difficulty in transacting the business of the meeting, as 
repeated adjournments took place, and the records close with 
these despairing woids, — " At which time [Jan. 17()4] said 
uieeting was drop})ed without any further transaction ever 
done at said meeting." The drawing as we learn from a 
subsequent record was not finished at the meeting when the 
clerk entered the above note of des[)aii", but was completed 
afterwards, since we find in the records a " list of the Pro- 
prietors of Haverhill with the numl)er of their house and 
meadow lots annexed to each proprietor's name, as said lots 
were drawn at the several Proprietors' meetings of the said 
Town of Haverhill." 

The anmial meeting of the Town as well as the first meet- 
ing was also fixed by the charter, and was directed to be 
held on the second Tuesday in March. The first annual 
meeting of which any record is made, was held March 13, 
1764, in, Plaistow at the house of John Hall, inn-holder. 
James Bailey was chosen moderator, after which it was 
adjourned to " Haverhill at Cohos, to the house of John 
Taplin to June 13." Of this fJune meeting no record is 
preserved. 

The first full list of Town officers, of which any record is 



152 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

t'oiind, was chosen at the annual meeting in 1765. These 
fathers of the Town government were as folhjws, — modera- 
tor, Elisha Lock ; clerk, John Hazen ; selectmen, John 
Hazen, P^lisha Lock and Jonathan Elkins ; constable, Ed- 
ward Bailey ; surveyors of high-ways, James Woodward, 
Joshua FLiyward ; fence-surAcyor, Jonathan Sanders ; hog- 
reave, Uriah Morse; tithing-man, Jonathan Goodwin. 
According to this list it would seem that the Jonathans were 
a popular class in the infant settlement of the Town. 

The Town records inform us that in 1766 £10 was voted 
for Town expenses. This was the first appropriation of 
money by the Town, except that which was voted for preach- 
ing the [»revious year. It was also ordered that a " pound" 
be built, and John Ladd had the honor of headinji; the long 
list of pound-keepers for the little Reiniblic. The location 
of this pound was most likely at the " Plain," as afterward, 
1793, the Town voted that two pounds be built, one "at 
the North end at Col. Howard's," near where the County 
Poor House now stands, and the other " at the South end 
on land owned by ]\Ioody Bedel, in the corner where the 
road leads to Maj. Joshua Young's." This road turned off 
just south of the Eliza Cross house, and led to where Peter 
Flanders now lives. The present pound opposite the 
residence of James Woodward was built in 1<SC)2. Also 
at this meeting it was voted that ' ' all labor done for the 
Town should be at fifty cents per day. 

In the following year a book of records for the Town was 
bought, which fact may account for the imperfect condition 
of the records in the first and second years of the Town's 
organization. 

The exposed condition of the settlement is indicated by 
the fact that in 1769 an article was put in the warrant to see 
if the Town would provide a "stock of amnuinition." It 
was also voted at the same time that " 20 shillings be paid 
for each wolf-head catched or killed." These bounties in the 



EAIJLY TOWN HECOHDS. 153 

interest of protection afjainst wolves were fre<[uently renewed 
in subsequent years, as well as bounties aijainst otber wild 
depredatory animals. 

In 1770 the amount of money voted for Town expenses 
was £6, and in the followini): year the first treasurer was 
chosen, and James Bailey had the honor of being entrusted 
as treasurer with the keeping and the disbursing the Town's 
funds. Previous to this time the selectmen discharged the 
duties of that office. 

Our fathers seem to have grown economical as the early- 
years rolled on ; for in 1772 only £4 were voted for town 
expenses. This small sum was doubtless for the ordinary 
charges of the Town, perhaps mainly expended for the 
salaries of officers. The selectmen received for their duties 
and responsibilities three shillings per day. 

In the following year a new office was created, demanded 
it would seem by a new emergency. The occupant was 
styled a ''■ deer-reave." When the country was first, settled 
deer were found in great abundance, and were the most 
valuable of all the wild animals of the forest. Being killed 
in large numbers by the settlers it became necessary to 
protect them against an indiscriminate slaughter that 
threatened their early extinction. In Massachusetts before 
the close of the seventeenth century it was unlawful to kill 
deer between January 1st and August 1st. For this reason 
an officer was chosen whose dutv it was to inform a<i;ainst 
those who killed deer out of season. The first mention of 
this officer in the records of Haverhill is found as above, 
and was designed for the protection of deer. This year, 
also, the one hundred acre lot reserved on Ila/.en (Poole) 
brook was given to John Fisher for a mill j)rivilege, if he 
would " saw for the jjroprietors for one-half." 

Taxes were abated in certain cases as early as 1771, and 
in the same year the Town was asked to see what it would 
do in reference to David Swain, who is described as " non 



154 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

compos mentis." What the Town did for the unfortunate 
David does not appear. Also in this year Edward Bailer 
was voted " o shillings for one day in numbering the people 
in 171)7." The population at that time is given on page 
57 in foot note. 

As early as 1774 the burial of the dead was cared for by 
the Town, and two ])laces for this purpose were set apart in 
that year for public use. Also a " burial cloth " was pro- 
vided at the public exi)ense. Private corporations were as 
yet unknown in tlie infant settlement. One of these burial 
j)hices is the present cemetery at Ladd street, the other the 
old graveyard at Horse meadow. 

The first ordained and settled minister in the Town, as 
was the custom in those times, was granted by the charter a 
"• right of land." From the records it would seem that this 
"right" was brought into controvei'sy. One "■ Kanna 
Cossit " — the name looks as if he thought he ought to be the 
Town cosset — seems to have been the person who wished to 
disturb the minister's right of glebe, and the authority of the 
Town was interposed to defeat his unfriendly purposes ; for 
in 1775 it was -^oted to defend the "■ minister's right of land " 
against the said " Kanna Cossit." It would seem from a 
document entitled " Haverhill and Xcwbury Covenant," 
dated January 2<S, 1775, that Cols. John Hurd and Asa 
Porter were the instigators of this plot, and were accordingly 
censured by their fellow citizens as " acting contrary to the 
society of Haverhill and Newbury," in trying to foist an 
Episcopal minister upon the conununity, and claiming for 
him the " right of glebe," when they knew that Rev. Peter 
Powers had been an ordained clergyiuan for a number of 
years. The affair stirred the comnuinity to its very depth, 
and in the " covenant" Cols. Hurd and Porter were declared 
to be " public enemies to the good of the conununity." The 
signers of this "covenant" "carried the war into Africa," 
and pledged themselves " not to have any comnumication 



EAIJLV TOWX UKCOUDS, 155 

with either of them, not .so inueh as to trade, lend, borrow, 
or hd)or with them ;" and further, that they woidd " not hohl 
any eorrespondcnee, nor have any dealings with any that 
hold with Cols. Hurd and Porter, until they shall willingly 
make public satisfaction for what they have done in the prem- 
ises." Evidently the boycott was abroad in those days. 

In early times the meetings both of the Town and of the 
Proprietors were held either at })rivate houses or at inn- 
holders. The records of 1776 speak of a meeting which 
Avas adjourned to the "state house." This "state house" 
was the court house which yvus built a few years before. 

About this time a child of Susanna Hadley was a constant 
care of the Town, and finally ten shillings were paid for a 
sort of ' ' undercjround railroad " service in reo'ard to said 
child. 

In 178(') the Town voted inianimously to emit a paper 
currency as follows : 

"That one hundred thousand pounds be emitted, — twenty thousand 
pounds to be in suitable bills to defray the charges of government, 
and to exchange for such public securities as may be ottered at their 
current exchange, which is to be ascertained, and to carry no interest 
but to be receivable in taxes and all demands of government and a 
tender in all cases equal to silver and gold, and to be called in by 
taxes annually, — the residue to be made in ditierent bills expressing 
their import, and to be loaned to individuals at tive per cent, on landed 
security of double the value, and to be paid into the treasury at 
proper times, whieh shall carry an interest of two and a half percent., 
and so receivable in all demands of government and a tender in all 
cases as above — with the interest due on said bills at the time of 
payment.'' 

The action of the Town, with similar action in other towns, 
being brought before the legislature, it was voted that there 
was no authority to " make paper bills of credit a tender to 
discharge priAate contracts made prior to the ])assing such 
act." And thus this earlier "greenback" scheme to pay 
debts with irredeemable paper came to a sudden end. 

The Town cast its first vote for congressmen and presiden- 



156 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

tial electors in 1787. ]\Ioses Dow, a prominent lawyer and 
distinguished citizen of Haverhill, was one of the persons 
voted for for congressman, and received the vote of Haver- 
hill. This vote was a sort of popular nomination, and from 
the list of persons voted for, the legislature chose the three 
persons who had the largest jiopular vote in the state as the 
representatives to Congress. Previous to this, in 1784, the 
legislature had appointed Mr. Dow a congressman, but he 
declined the honor for reasons chiefly which do not now 
burden men's minds. 

At a special meeting in 1783 the Town voted to send its 
first representative to the General Court. The person who 
received the honor of the first appointment to that office by 
the suffrages of his fellow townsmen was James Woodward, 
a prominent and worthy citizen, and the qualifications of the 
person who should be decreed fit to be chosen for this position 
were set forth in the warrant as follows : "A reputable free- 
holder and an inhabitant of said Town, and qualified as the 
law directs to represent said Town in the general assembly 
of said state." Our forefathers had no friendly side for 
political tramps. They believed in the " best," and evi- 
dently thought that a man who could not or would not 
become a property holder was not a suitable person to have 
the care of the commonwealth. They were sound states- 
men and true patriots, who did not believe in committing 
the infant state to the nursing of doubtful persons. Also in 
this year the Town cast its first vote for governor and state 
senator, and Moses Dow received the vote of the Town for 
the latter office. 

In 1783 the warning of a special meeting had this article : 
" To pass some votes as said inhabitants [Town] shall see 
fit concerning tories, absentees, or persons who had left the 
United States of America, and voluntarily taken residence 
within the lines of the enemies of said United States, and 
have returned or may return into this Town." And a com- 



EAKLY TOWN RECORDS. 157 

mittee was appointed to execute this article, viz., " That no 
such persons be suffered to reside in this Town." Some of 
these persons it would seem returned after the war was over 
to their homes, since the Town directed the constable to 
warn sundry persons that they must ' ' leave their country for 
their country's good," under the pains and penalties of the 
law " in such case made and provided." 

At a later period the Town seems again to have been 
troubled with persons whose presence was not as agreeable 
as tlieir room, and the records tell of two votes, one of 
thii'teen shillings to Capt. Ephraim AVesson for warning 
thirteen of these unwelcome peo])le out of Town, and 
another of twenty-seven shillings for warning twenty-seven 
others of the same character. 

Also in the year after, the following episode garnishes the 
Town records : It was the first marriage in Town by a 
magistrate, and the parties were Jose])h Clowd and Xancy 
Frazier. Those were the days of " publishments," and 
Joseph and Nancy were unfortunate, as their publishment 
was torn down, and the record is marked " void." So 
Joseph and Nancy had to ])ut off and be " put up" again, 
befoi-e " they twain " could be made " one." 

The selectmen Avere chosen at a special meeting in 1700, 
for what reason does not appear, and in the year following a 
question of conscience appears upon the records in a vote to 
excuse the selectmen from taking the oath of office " so far 
as it respects the Sabbath act." The act referred to here 
required the selectmen to inform against all persons who 
traveled on the Sabbath between sun-rising and sun-setting, 
except to " attend to public worship, visit the sick, or do 
works of charity." This law was vigorously enforced, and 
many persons, it is said, who were found traveling on the 
Sacred day, Avere compelled by the vigilant tything-mun to 
" lie to." Capt. John Page once spent a quiet day in 
Warren at the invitation of one James Dow who was very 



158 HISTORY OF HAVEKHILL. 

jealous for tlie observance of the Sabbath. After paying 
fines and costs the next day he was allowed to go home in 
peace. 

Another article at this meeting, 1791, read, — " To see if 
the Town would consent to have the small-pox in said Town 
by way of inoculation," which however was rejected at first. 
Was it under the impression that tlie Town preferred not to 
have the small-pox at all ? But afterwards this vote was 
reversed, and the Town took its small-pox homeopathically. 

In the interest of patriotism a long-standing debt Avas 
discharged in 175>8. In that year tlie Town Aoted to pay 
Capt. Ebenezer Sanborn $10 for "fetching two hundred 
pounds of balls, fifty pounds of powder and a quantity of 
riint from Exeter." This service was rendered in 1775. A 
vote was also passed to take care of the poor as the law 
directs. This was a vote to enforce the law which allowed 
towns to have ' ' houses of correction or work-houses in 
which to set their poor to work ; " and towns were also em- 
powered to use these for the " keeping, correcting, and setting 
to work of rogues, vagabonds, common beggars, lewd, idle 
and disorderly persons." 



CHAPTER IX. 

TOWN KfXOHDS FROM ISOO TO ISSli. 

Town in Relation to Comlition of Country — War of 1812— Bounties for Soldiers — 
Small-i)ox — School Trouble— Town Farm— Town House— Fire Proof Vault — 
War of the Rebellion — Money Voted for Soldiers' Families — Bounties — Sum 
Total of .Money Voted during the War for M'ar Purposes— Funded Debt — 
Duty of Town to Needy Soldiers — Monument — Party Struggles— Character of 
Early Officers— A Memorable Contest— Improved Order. 

Already as early as 180!) " eoniino: events were eastin<i: 
their shadovys before,"' and we find the Town, throngh a 
committee appointed for the purpose, expressing its feeling 
in regard to the condition of the country. Tliis committee 
declared that the country was in a *' truly interesting and 
alarming condition," and called upon the government to 
abandon its policy in regard to the '' embargo laws." 

At a town meeting in 1812 the question iA' bounties for 
drafted soldiers was considered, and a motion t(j vote such 
l)ounties was defeated by a very decided majority. At the 
same time resolutions were passed condemning the national 
authorities on account of the war. A strong "states 
rights " doctrine was assumed, and it is very evident that the 
" peace party" of that day was largely in the ascendant in 
our goodly Town. This meeting declared the War of 1812 
to l)e *' unnecessary and impolitic," and expressed a willing- 
ness to join other towns in convention to secure the rights of 
tlie people. A convention for this purpose was to be held 
at Orford, and Jose])h IJell, (ieorge Woodward, and John 
Smith were a[)[)ointed delegates to represent Haverhill in 
that conyention. Feeling ran high, and not only was the 
l)etition for giving soldiers of the War of 1812 additional 
bounty to that which was offered bv the fjenei'al jjovernment 
pnjmptly voted down by the " peace party," but also a 
])roposition to allow militia men compensation for j)owder 
and ball expended by them, was rejected by an c(pially 



1(50 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

clecisi\e vote. The Town was thoroughly in the liands of 
the Federalists. 

In 1822 the Town was attticted with the small-pox, and 
Dr. Simeon Woodward engaged to vaccinate the inhabitants 
of the Town for thirty dollars, provided they would assemble 
for that purpose as far as possible in the school houses. The 
disease seems to have raged with much force and destruction, 
as a committee appointed at that time in regard to the mat- 
ter reported one hundred sixty-nine dollars " expense incur- 
red " in meeting this enemy of the people. 

In this same year we have revealed the school troubles of 
Mr. AVilliam Ladd, who was a resident of district No. 7, 
but who wanted to get into district No. 8. The people of 
No. 8, however, voted in the negative " almost unani- 
mously," and ga\e as their reason that when said Ladd was 
in No. 8, the district was kept in " constant broil and dis- 
cord," and when he was disannexed to No. 7, "• harmony 
and unanimity prevailed." But the Town took compassion 
on ISIr. Ladd, and allowed him the opportunity of keeping 
No. 8 in " constant- broil and discord," on conditit)n of 
the payment of fifteen dollars. 

The matter of a poor-farm first came up in town meeting 
in 1831, but nothing definite Avas done till 1838, when a 
committee was appointed to consider the question of buying 
a poor-farm. Subsequently a ])oor-farm was purchased, and 
was held I)y the Town till the county system was adopted in 
1868. This form was the David ]\Ierrill farm, situated 
north of Poole brook west of the river road bridge which 
spans that brook. 

In 1848 a committee of five was appointed to consider the 
*'cost and expediency" of building a town house. Up to 
that time town meetings were held at hotels or in churches at 
the north and S(Kith ends of the Town. This connnittee 
reported at a subsequent meeting, and fifteen hundred dollars 
was voted for a town house. The place of location was to 



LATER TOWX RECORDS. 161 

be near the Union church, and a committee was appointed to 
select a site, John R. Reding being chairman of this com- 
mittee. The house was occupied the first time in 1851. 
The building committee greatly exceeded the amount of 
money appropriated for the town house, and there was a dis- 
position on the part of the Town not to accept the building. 
The matter, however, was finally adjusted by arbitration, 
John R. Reding acting as agent for the Town. Another 
account of this aflfair is that pending the settlement of the 
dispute between the Town and the builders, the selectmen, 
without thinking of or knowing the consequences of their 
action, posted a warrant for a town meeting on the door of 
the town house, and called the meeting at that place. This 
action of the selectmen was a tacit acceptance of the building 
at the hands of the committee, and made the Town liable 
for its cost. This house was a large stone building at the 
centre of the Town a little south of the Union church, and 
was used for town purposes till 1883, when it Avas voted to 
build a new town house at North Haverhill in order to 
accommodate the citizens of the Town more conveniently. 
This last building is a wood structure, neatly and well built, 
and answers the purposes of the Town very well, though a 
more commodious edifice built of permanent material, with a 
fire-proof vault, and of public architectural character, would 
have been more in keeping with the wealth and standing of 
the Town. The present building cost about two thousand 
dollars. They also at a subsequent meeting Aoted twelve 
hundred dollars for a vault to keep the records in, and which 
has since been built. 

The AVar of the Rebellion laid upon the Town heavy 
burdens in men and money. The first money api)ropriated 
for war purposes was five hundred for soldiers' families ; this 
was in 1861. In the following year eight thousand dollars 
was voted for bounties. There were two votes of money for 
bounties in 1863, one of ten thoiisand dollars and the other 



162 HiSTOKY OF iiavp:khill. 

of fourteen thousand dollars. The large sums voted in the 
year following for the enlistment of soldiers, shows how 
reluctant those Avere who were lial)le to do military duty, 
to respond to the country's call without the stimulus of 
tempting bounties, for in this year the extraordinary sum of 
forty-five thousand dollars was voted for this purpose, making 
a total during the four years of the war for bonnties and 
soldiers' families of seventy-seven thousand nine hundred 
dollars. In 1864 the Town voted to fund the floatinjj: debt 
in a sum not exceeding twenty thousand dollars. The entire 
debt of the Town, or sixty-five thousand dollars of it, was 
funded to be paid in five, ten, fifteen, and twenty years, 
and a sinking fund was provided to meet these obligations at 
maturity. The first jmyment of the funded debt was in 
1875, the next 1880, and the third in 1885. The debt 
reached its highest figures in 1870, and the Town was 
entirely free from debt in 1885. 

In the trying struggle of the nation for integrity and 
preservation, the Town pursued a })atriotic and liberal policy. 
She furnished her full quota of troops at every call, and 
spared no means to put her sons into the field. Those who 
went forth to danger, hardship, and death, have been grate- 
fully remembered by the Town, and the stigma should never 
rest upon her fair fame that any of those who periled their 
lives for the nation, should ever through old age or infirmity 
be allowed to come to want. The Town also owes it to her- 
self — may I be permitted to make the suggestion — to erect 
a soldiers' monument at some connnanding point, on which 
should be inscribed the names of all soldiers who fought for 
their country from the Vsur of the KcAolution to the AA'ar for 
the Union inclusive. The sum of twenty-five hundred or three 
thousand dollars for such a monument would perpetuate to 
coming generations the memory and deeds not only of those 
who won our liberties, but also of those wdio were the 
preservers of our goodly heritage. The time of the dedica- 



LATER TOWN KECOIMXS. 1()3 

tion of siieli a monument mi<i;lit he fitly in;i(le the oecasion 
of a grand gathering of the sons and daiigliters of the Town 
from far and near, a revi\al of patriotic- feeling and fraternal 
good-will amongst all her citizens, and a deeper sense of 
the obligation of each one to the good of the country. Su(!h 
an event would be an honor to her historic record and her 
noble founders. 

In all these years there have been some quite warm con- 
tests when party feeling ran high and when good neighborly 
relationships were at times strained ; but generally these 
earnest contests for political supremacy were waged in good 
part, and when they were over they left little or no rankling 
behind. The Town has been held in turn by Jeffersonian 
Republicans, Federalists, Whigs, Democrats, Republicans, 
and in the main has been well managed in its public affairs. 
In the earlier history of the Town men of imquestioned 
character and ability were as a rule called to official trust and 
position ; but a change has come in, and now there is danger 
that almost every one is tempted to think himself qualified 
to manage the concerns of the Town. As a consequence 
incompetency and assurance sometimes take the ])lacc of 
merit and capacity for public affairs. 

A long contest in town meeting occurred in 1871). It was 
chiefly for political control, and some warm blood was stirred 
up on this occasion. This was the time when the Green- 
backers came into existence, and although not very munerous 
they were still strong enough to hold the bahuice of power 
in many places. This Avas the case in HaAcrhill, and as a 
(•((usequence they made terms for the offices to suit them- 
selves. Over these the contest was waged for six successive 
days before the matter was ended. This contest served the 
occasion for some smart and s})i('y s[)eaking, and it was said 
that ''soiled linen" was freely aired. l>ut the struggle 
ended in good nature, and soon })assed out ot" the minds of 
most. " Alfs well that ends well." 



164 



HISTOKY OF HAVEKHILL. 



To the honor and o-ood name of the Town it ouo-ht to be 
said that greater order and quiet has prevailed in later years 
in town meeting than in former times. This is no more than 
is due the time and place when every citizen is called upon to 
exercise his highest and most sacred privilege and trust. 



CHAPTER X. 

HAVERHILL IX THE REVOLUTIOX, 

Prominence in the Revolution— Geographical Position — Able Leaders — Compact— 
Cohos well known to Enemj' — Col. Johnston's Letter — Forts in the Upper 
Cohos — Rangers at Haverhill— Haverhill the Rendezvous for Troops and Scout- 
ing Parties — Character of the Ranger— Haverhill in constant Communication 
with Exeter and the Xortliern Army — Col. Wyman's Regiment — Four Stock- 
ades — Alarm from Indians in 177(i — Retreat of our Army from St. Johns — Great 
consternation at Cohos — A Second Alarm in 1777 — Again after the fall of Ticon- 
deroga — Military Road from Cohos to St. Johns—" Block Houses "—The Alarm 
of 1780 — Town Authorities wide-awake — Frequent votes of Powder, Lead and 
Fire-arms — Etlicient Committee of Safety Men — Conferences with other Towns 
— Vigilant eyes on Home-enemies— The Conspiracy of Col. Porter and others — 
Strong feeling — Persons who were obnoxious to the British — Rev. Peter Powers 
— Col. Johnson captured— Gen. Bailey's Escape — Dea. Elkius' Alarm— Quotas 
of Beef and Flour — Transportation of Grain from Cohos prohibited — Money- 
Patriots — Disastrous efl'ects of the War — Rapid increase of Town Expenses — 
Sale of Rights — Decrease of Population during the War. 

In the stirring events of the Revohition Haverhill took a 
conspicuous part. Her citizens were generally full of [)atri- 
otic zeal and enthusiasm for the cause of freedom, and 
responded Avith promptness and brave hearts to the calls of 
their country. Some of the most eminent citizens held hon- 
orable rank in the patriot army. Her prominence in the 
great struggle for independence was due to several causes ; 
partly on account of the geographical position of the Town, 
and partlv also to the fact that amongst her citizens were 
those who had taken active part in the French and Indian 
War, and being men of ability and character they were 
especially well qualified to assume im[)ortant ])arts in tiic new 
drama that was opening. Then, too, being the most popu- 
lous town north of No. 4, she was able to send a large 
quota into the service of the country. 

By the kindness of Gen. A. Harleigh Hill, who wrote 
the history of Groton, Vt., I give the following document 
which presents in a very vivid light the war-like atmosphere 
that prevailed in Haverhill and in the neighboring towns at 



l(i() HISTORY OF HAYEKHILL. 

the beg'inning of the Kevohition, and which extendetl 
through to the close of that struggle : 

Haverhill, May 2d, 1775. 

We, the subscribers, do soleinnlj^ declare by all the sacred ties of 
honor and relij^ion, that we will act at all times against all illegal and 
unconstitutional impositions and acts of Parliament, made and en- 
acted against the New England governments and the continent of 
English Xorth America. And we do believe that shutting up the port 
•of Boston, Quebec bill, and sundry other bills and acts, to be illegal 
and unconstitutional, and also the declaration wherein the Xew Eng- 
land governments are declared in a state of rebellion, etc., are uncon- 
stitutional and unjust; and we do engage to stand in opposition to all 
force come or coming against us, by order of the present rainistrj", 
for supporting of the present measures, while our lives and fortunes 
last, or until those notorious unconstitutional acts are repealed and 
the American Colonies re-established in the privileges due to them as 
English subjects. 

At a meeting of the committee of the several towns. Voted for 
Lime [Lyme], Lieut. Charles Nelson; from Orford, Daniel Tillestou, 
Esq. ; from Piermont, Lieut. Jona. Chandler, Lieut. John Weed ; from 
Haverhill, James Bayley, Simeon Goodwin, Timo. Brown [Barron?], 
and Charles Johnston; from Batli, Timothy Bedel, Esq., Capt. Oliver 
Sanders, William Eastman; from Gunthwen [Lisbon], Mr. John 
Young ; from Lancaster, Capt. Edward Bucknam ; from Northum- 
berland, Joseph Peverly, Esq. Convened at the house of Lieut. 
Joseph Hutehins, iim-holder of Haverhill, on Tuesday, the 2d daj' of 
May instant, passed the following votes : 

First — Chose Timo. Bedel chairman. 

Second — Chose Charles Johnston clerk. 

Voted ; Daniel Tilleston, Ebenezer Green, and Lieut. Charles Nelson, 
be a connnittee for Lime [Lyme] and Orford, to send men to Canada if 
need be. 

Voted ; Lieut. Jonathan Chandler, Lieut. Jolin Weed, Lieut. Joseph 
Hutehins, Lieut. Ezekiel Ladd, and Charles Johnston, to be a connnit- 
tee to send a scouting party^ to Canada, or elsewhere, as they shall 
think proper. 

Voted; Captain Oliver Sanders, Mr. Nathaniel Hovey, Mr. John 
Young, Capt. Edward Bucknam, Joseph Peverlj^ Esq., be a connnit- 
tee to send scouting partj' to Canada or elsewhere as they shall think 
proper. 

Voted ; That the several towns in this county, within this regi- 
ment, shall choose their officers, namely : captain, lieutenant and 
ensign, annually. 

Chose Timothj' Bedel to be colonel of this regiment. 



KEVOLUTIOXAUV rEIMOI). 1()7 

Chose Charles Jolmston to be lieutonant-eoloiiel. 

Chose Jonathan Childs 1st major. 

Cliose James Bayley 'id major. 

Chose .Simeon Goodwin adjutant. 

Chose John Young quartermaster. 

Chose Samuel Hale, Esq., to be the surgeon of the regiment. 

Voted; To adjourn this meeting until to-morrow morning at eight 
o'clock. 

Met on [according to] adjournment at time and place. 

Voted; That tlie officers tliat shall be [appointed] b.y the several 
towns, see that their respective companies be equipped with arms and 
anmiunition as soon as may be. 

Voted; That the committee fi-om the several towns are empowered 
to call the company together in those towns where there are no 
officers, in order lor the choice of officers. 

Voted; That this committee do adjudge it absoluteljMiecessary as 
representatives for each particular town, that each and every person, 
belonging to our said towns do put themselves under command, and 
subn)it themselves unto such commanding officers as is and shall be 
chosen by this committee, and each particular town. 

Voted ; That a true cojjy of the proceedings of this committee be 
transmitted by the clerk of this committee unto the honorable 
committee appointed bj^ the Provincial congress to be convened at 
Exeter on the seventeenth day of May, instant. 

A^oted; That Ezekiel Ladd be a delegate to represent this commit- 
tee in the Provincial congress. 

Voted; To adjourn the meeting unto the first Tuesday in June 
next, unless the chairman think it necessary to meet before. 

Charles Johnston, Clerk. 

The Colio.s ComitrN was well known to the enemy thi'onii'li 
the Freneli War. and being, as it were, the door-way of 
entrance from the nortli to eastern New England, Ilaverliill 
was constantly in danger of ix'ing attacked hy forces fi-om 
Canada. The importance, therefore, of holding the Cohos 
Country was early seen, and was set forth in a letter from 
Col. Charles Johnston to the New Hampshire congress June, 
1775 : " Now, gentlemen, as to the situation of these parts, 
how near the borders of the enemy we are, everyone knows 
Avho is acquainted with the boundaries of oiu* own Province. 
As to the position of di'fence, we are in want of l)oth arms 
and annnnnition, and innc not a suHicient nnmbci' of men to 



168 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

defend our frontiers without some assistance frojn the lower 
towns." The committee of safety at Exeter at once directed 
Col. Bedel to proceed to Upper Cohos and " erect a garri- 
son " at Nortliumbcrland, and to "assist in building 
garrisons in such other places on the frontier as you [he] 
shall judge most necessary." 

On this account troops known as rangers were early 
stationed at Haverhill and in the Upper Cohos, also at New- 
bury, and Morctown [Bradford], Yt., to keep a sharp look- 
out toward the north and west. At one time two hundred 
and fifty troops were ordered to Newbury. Col. Bedel was 
in connnand of the first company of rangers in this section 
in 1775, and from tliat time on to the close of the war 
Haverhill was made a rendezvous of troops. 

In 17 7() the Provincial congress at Exeter voted '•' that 
there be but one place of rendezvous in tliis [New Hamp- 
shire] colony for the troops destined to Canada, and that it 
be at Haverhill on the Connecticut river." And in the same 
year Col. John Hurd " was authorized to fix ofll^' all the 
companies from Cohos [Haverhill] with ten da^s' j)ro- 
visions." 

Accordingly, from here scouting })arties were constantly 
sent out towards St. Johns and Lake Cham])lain to ascertain 
the number and position of the enemy, and tliey often 
brought in s})ies and deserters in their long and swift 
marches. 

These scouting parties or rangers were composed of men 
of great daring and bravery, who shunned no danger if need 
be, and declined no service however perilous and exacting. 
They adopted the Indian mode of warfare, and were trained 
to wonderfully quick marches and secret movements. It was 
their duty to ascertain the condition and intentions of the 
enemy, and watch his motions. They hung upon his skirts 
and harrassed his scouts, lying in ambush for days along 
Indian trails to administer to the savages in the cnemv's ser- 



REVOLITIOXAKY I'ERIOI). 169 

vice the same cruel warfare which these savarres emphn'cd. 
They swam swoHen streams, crept steahliily throui^'h tanj>;le(l 
undergrowth, scak'd ru<i<red mountains, and wa(U'd through, 
dangerous swamps, in order to aeconiphsli their purpose. 

Haverhill, through her committee of safety was in daily 
connnunication with the Provincial congress at Exeter and the 
patriot army acting against Canada. The Town was more 
or less in constant alarm from invasion from Canada. In. 
June, 1771), a regiment under command of' Col. Isaac 
AA ynian of Keene was ordered to rendezvous " at Haverhill 
on the Connecticut." Four stockade forts were l)uilt in 177(> 
to secure the peo[)le against sudden attacks. Two of these 
were at the Corner, and two at tiie "Plain." One at the 
Corner was built around the Col. Johnston place, and the 
other was on Ladd street. On one occasion during this year 
the people north of Haverhill were gathered into these stock- 
ades in fear of an attack from the Indians. There was also 
about the same time great alarm from an antici])ated invasion 
from Canada after our army retreated from St. Johns. The 
connuittces of safety of Ha\-crhill and Xewhury sent messen- 
gers to headquarters in Massachusetts and New Hamjjshire 
to inform the authorities of the dangerous situation these 
parts were in, and unless innnediately su})ported, the inhab- 
itants would be compelled to aljandon this door-way to 
Canada. Arms and ammunition were loudly called for, and 
the utmost anxiety })revailcd for the safety of Cohos. 

In Marcli, 1777, Cohos was threatened a second time 
by an Indian invasion, and Col. Bedel was ordered by (len. 
Schuyler to Haverhill to observe their motions, and get 
what intelligence he could alxmt affairs in Canada. Through 
a scout sent to St, Francis it was learned that a large body 
of Indians had engaged with the Ihitish troops, and that it 
was thought an early attack Avould be made upon Cohos. 
Col. Bedel asked for inunediate assistance in ordei' to guard 
this section from (le\astation. 



170 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

]n the .same vear. after the fall of Tieoiiderooa, the Cohos 
Countrv was again thrown into the greatest consternation, 
and was lionrly expecting- an attack from the victorious 
•enemy. Col. Hurd wrote from Haverhill, July 21, 1777, to 
Gov. AVeai'e at Exeter : — " Now we may most surelv expect 
a visit from the enemy ;" and Gen. Bailey, of same date, 
says : — " Sundry expresses have arrived from Windsor in- 
forming of the enemies passing toward Xo. 4 and Cohos." 

In order to facilitate the easy and rapid movement of 
troops from Haverhill in the direction of St. Johns, whilst 
our army was operating against Canada, a military road A\as 
begun from the Cohos Country and was huilt as far as 
Peacham, Vt., and various points on the line wei'e garri- 
soned. The forts were called ''block houses," and were 
safe against an enemy carrying only small arms. Tin-; road 
was begun by Gen. Bailey in 177(), and Avas intended to 
extend to St. Johns, but after the surrender of Biu'goyne 
the war was transferred chiefly to the South. Afterwards, 
in 1771), the road Avas com[)leted by Col. Moses Hazen to 
Montgomery, Yt., about fii'ty miles beyond Peacham, and 
the gap in the Green jVIountains through Avhich it passed is 
called Hazen's Gap, and the road Avas known by his name. 
Col. Haven's regiment Avas stationed along this road, and the 
principal points Avere Haverhill and Peacham. 

In 1780 there Avas again general alarm in regard to the 
safety of the Cohos Country. A connnittee Avas called at 
Dresden [Dartmouth College] to " consult Avhat is best to 
be done for the 2)rotecti()n of these frontiers." Gen. Bailey 
of NcAvljiuy wrote to Goa'. Weare of Ncav Hampshire that 
the British forces Avere strongly })osted at Crown Point and 
on Onion riAcr, and an immediate attack on Cohos Avas 
expected. " I Avish," he Avrites, "you Avould give orders 
that the mightiest regiment in your state [avouIcI] come, so 
one [avc] might be in readiness." And again later : — " This 
frontier is the onh' one for five hundred miles AACst remainine: 



REVOLUTIONAKV I'EIilOI). 171 

[exposed]. It is near tlie enemy. Jt is of <iTeat importance 
to you [\('\v IIanij)sliire] , and the otlier New Enu'land 
states."" 

The T(^\vn records during this period show that tlie author- 
ities and tlie people wei'e wide-awake to tlie urgent de- 
mands of the liour. Frequent votes are found for powder, 
lead and fire-arms for the piu'pose of arming the people and 
furnishing them with the means of defense. The spirit of 
the camp breathes all through these records from the begin- 
ning of the war till its close. As early as 1774 £20 were 
voted for ammunition for Town protection ; and at a special 
meeting in the following year it was voted that a committee 
be chosen " to see that all the results of the Continental 
Congress are duly observed in said Town [Haverhill]." 
It was also voted to appropriate £10 to Capt. Ebenezer 
Sanborn for " fetching 200 pounds of ball and 50 pounds of 
powder and a quantity of flint from Exeter." Other ap[)ro- 
priations of money were made from time to time for 
" fetching up ammunition for the Town," for " running 90 
■weight of lead," ftu' "gunpowder for the Town," for "the 
payment of scouting parties and for furnishing horses for the 
use of the same." The Town also voted supplies to the 
families of those who were serving in the army. 

Various sums of money, too, were paid to the Town by 
order of the " Provincial Congress" for supplies of ammuni- 
tion and provisions to the troops stationed at Haverhill. In 
1781 Timothy Barron received certain moneys for troops, 
£49 for beef; and in the same year Col. Johnston was paid 
£363 for beef. In 1782 100 ])ounds powder, 200 pounds 
balls, 300 flints and S2'} pounds beef were furnished soldiers 
at Haverhill. 

During all this time energetic and able men were a[)i)oint- 
ed a connnittee of safety for the Town, whose duty it was to 
comnuuiieate with the provincial connnittee of safety at Ex- 



172 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

eter. Also special conferences were appointed to devise 
ways and means for the defence of the frontier. 

In 1777 the Town " chose a committee to meet a com- 
mittee of the several towns at Lebanon." The object of this 
meeting we learn in a subsequent town meeting, when 33 
shillings were voted to Capt. AVesson, James Bailey and 
Dea. Abbott for the journey to Lebanon to " converse with 
a committee sent by the General Court." The town com- 
mittee of safety had the general direction of the scouting 
parties, and to this committee the scouts reported on their re- 
turn from their beats. Here were sent arms and ammuni- 
tion for distribution to the troops coming and going. 

Our forefathers in these stirring times were also vigilant 
in regard to those whose sympathies were with the mother 
country. We read of votes in town meeting of £9 to 
Daniel Stevens for " committing Edward Picket to jail as an 
enemy to his country, and of £5 for " warning five ])ersons 
out of Town." Some of the leading men of the Town were 
in a conspiracy to lietray tlie Cohos Country to the enemy. 
Col. Hurd, Aug. 7, 177(), writes to Gov. Weare : — "In 
my last I liinted to you that we had our eyes upon 
those persons who were })ropagating the notion of the expe- 
diency of sending into Canada for protection." The leading 
persons in this plot Avere Col. Porter, Col. Taplin of New- 
bury, Jacob ^yeeks of Bath, and Jacob Fowler of Newbury. 
The plan was divulged by a young Indian hunter, and Col. 
Porter was secured and sent to Exeter for trial. It would 
seem that the ])lot was known to the enemy in New York, 
and those in Haverhill and vicinity who were in the conspir- 
acy were in communication with })ersons in New York, and 
were only waiting for news from that ])oiut to make the 
strike. The i)arty which m as to go to Canada was to set out 
" under the })rctence of moose hunting," and they were to 
guide Burgoyne and his troops into the Cohos Coimtry, and 
aid him in taking possession of it. 



REVOLUTIOXARY PERIOD. 173 

The feeling between this chiss and tlie patriots ran very 
high, so that neighbors would not speak Avith each other. 
In a letter to the committee of safety at Exeter, 1777, the 
conspirators weve referred to in this vigorous language : 
" We are entirely laid open to the sudden attack of our 
British and savage enemy, and the more infernal race of 
enemies amongst ourselves, who are secretly and unweariedly 
plotting our destruction." 

There were those in Haverhill and Xewbury who had be- 
come especially obnoxious to the British authorities on 
account of their loyalty to the patriot cause. Rev. Peter 
Powers, who came early from the Vermont side of the river 
to Haverhill for safety, and Col. Johnson, who had taken an 
active and prominent part in the struggle, were in constant 
danger of their lives. Col. Johnson was captured in 1781 
and cai-ried to Canada, and Gen. Bailey a year later only 
escaped capture by a timely warning, and by crossing the 
river to Haverhill, Avhich on account of its position east of 
the river, was less exposed to sudden attacks of scouting par- 
ties from Canada.* Col. Johnson was captured at Peacham, 
Yt.. in the house of Dea. Elkins, and after the scoutins: 



* A British and Indian scout had come into the neighborhood for 
the purpose of capturing Gen. Bailey, and were lying in ambush 
upon the heights back of Newbury. Col. Johnson, who was cap- 
tured the year before, was now at home on parole, and according to 
the conditions of his parole he was under the directions of the British 
ofHcers. The officer in command of the scouting party signaled Col. 
Johnson to come to their hiding place, which he did, and he was 
informed of their intention to capture Gen. Bailey in the evening. 
Johnson was in great perplexity about his friend, but at last resolved 
to inform Gen. Bailey of his danger. He wrote on a slip of paper : 
"The Philistines be upon thee, Sampson," and gave it to a trusty 
person who was to cross the meadow where Gen. Bailey was plowing, 
drop the slip as he passed near the General, and go on to the river. 
AVhen Gen. Bailey came to the slip he carelessly picked it up and 
read it, and then plowing around once or twice, said to his boj'S, 
"Take care of yourselves,"' whilst he crossed the river to Ilaverliill. 
The attack was made that night. 



] 74 HISTOltY OF HAVERHILL. 

party had carried him to their camp, Dea. Elkins sent 
an alarm to Gen. Bailey and to the inhabitant.s of Cohos that 
the British and Indians were on their way to the Connecticut 
river, and were threatening" to burn the settlement at Cohos. 
I copy Dea. Elkins' letter, the original of which is in the 
possession of the " Historical Society of Vermont," and was 
foiuid amongst Gov. AVeare's papers in 1843. The John- 
son mentioned in the letter was Col. Thomas Johnson of 
Newbury, and must not be confounded with Col. Charles 
Johnston of Haverhill : 

Peacham, 9 March, 1781. 

Sir : — AVe were surprised yesterday morning, about three hours be- 
fore day, by four Tories ; the officer's name was Patterson ; one was 
Smith, and two Crosses, who came in when we were all in a sound 
sleep; had Daniel Davis for a guide. They called us all up, and told 
us we were their prisoners, and ordered lines to bind us, but did 
not. They took Mr. Johnson, Mr. Page and ray two sons. They told 
me they had burnt the upper block house, and that they had four or 
five hundred at the lower block house and at Mr. Davis", and that 
there was another party at Onion Kiver, fifteen hundred in the 
whole, and that Cohos would be burnt the night following ; and that 
the road between my house and Cohos was waylaid, and that Mr. 
Bailey's fort had surrendered, and that I must keep clear or else 
myself and family would be killed by the savages. Daniel Davis 
said that both their houses were full of men, and a great number 
of Indians camping abroad. This is what account I can give. 

Jonathan Elkins. 

To Gen. Bailey or the inliabitants of Cohos. 

(A true copy) . 

During these years of Revolutionary struggle the commit- 
tees of safety in the several towns were directed to furnish 
their quota of beef and flour for the troops in the field. 
Haverhill with her rich and extensi\e meadows was able to 
do much in this line. This was then a great wheat-growins: 
section, hundreds and thousands of bushels being harvested 
annually. In 1780 a meeting was called to " consult upon 
measures to be taken about the transportation of grain from 
this place," [Haverhill,] and then the Town voted to " take 
efl&cient measures to stop all the grain in said Town for the 



IJEA'OLUTIOXAin I'KIMOI). 175 

use of the public." Gen. Bailey was directed in 17711 hy 
the General Court to " \r.xy to C ol. Charles Johnston $2400 
which he has in his hands, for f(»rage su])])]icd on the fai'ui 
of John Fisher." 

It is also handed down in tradition that there were those 
in this section, whether Haverhill made any contribution to 
the enter[)rising- company does not exactly appear, who Avere 
willing- to turn a ])enny in furnishing beef without too close 
a scrutiny as to where it was going or who n)ight eat it. In 
a quiet Avay cattle were brought from secluded pastures, 
through the woods, and then after nightfall they were driven 
to the mouth of the ( Jliverian, and at an opportune time, of 
which these patriots were apprised, they swam the cattle 
across the Connecticut river and delivered them to British 
guards who were in waiting to drive them to the enemies' 
lines in Canada. 

The disastrous effects of the Ivevolutionarv war are seen in 
the rai)i(l apparent increase of town expenses. In 176(5 the 
amount voted for this purpose was £10, whilst in 1780 it 
rose to £1880, 10s,, and in the year following |34,150 was 
voted for the Town's " quota of beef." The ti'oubled state 
of the settlement is also indicated in a vote in 1780 to re- 
lease certain parties from fulfilling contracts for building 
mills on account of the " difficult times," and at the close of 
the lievolution there was a sale of original and other rights 
belonging to persons who were embarrassed. These rights 
numbered almost fifty. Population also increased very 
slowly during this period, and at one time actually decreased. 
In 1773 the 'j)opulation of the Town was 387, whilst in 
1775 it was only 3Go, many persons removing to " more 
safe and central parts of the state,'* as the cloud of war 
began to threaten. This was especially the case of such as 
were not land-owners. But after the close of the Revolu- 
tion j)opulation again rapidly increased, and the Town be- 
came one of the most prosperous ones in the state. 



CHAPTER XL 

ENTERPRISES AND BUSINESS. 

First Saw-mill and Grist-mill— General Progress— Liberal Offer for Blacksmith — 
First Saw-mill and Grist-mill at Hosmer Brook— Second Saw-mill— Other Mills — 
Fulling Jlill- Side Light— Flax Mill— Water Power— Rafting Lumbei-- First 
Tannery— Cloth and Carding Mill— Potash Factory— Paper Mill— Other Mills 
and Shops— Pulp Mill— Swasey Mills— Other Factories and Shops— Woodsville 
Lumber Co.— Marble Works— Other Enterprises — A. F. Pike Manufacturing 
Co. — Stores and other business at Corner, North Haverhill, East Haverhill, Pike 
Station, Woodsville. 

The Proprietors of the new settlement at Cohos went 
promptly and vigorously to work to develop the resources of 
the country, and used diligently the facilities and means at 
hand for this purpose. According to an early entry in the 
Pro})rietors' records, 1764, Haverhill and Xewbury had 
joined in interest in a ct)mmon ownership of some mills 
which were situated on Poole brook. These mills were lo- 
cated on the sites or prtvileges which were exempted when 
Capt. Hazen was allowed to select his house and meadow 
lots before any of the other proprietors drew theirs, and were 
the two mills which Hazen erected in the spring of 1762 
when he came to Haverhill with his workmen. The joint 
ownership of these mills by the two Towns or Proprietors 
was of short duration, as within a year after their erection 
they were otlbred at public sale, March 13, 1764, " agree- 
able to the vote of the Towns of Haverhill and Newbury,"* 
and were bid oiF by Hezekiah Hutchins for the sum of |520. 
This sale took place, no doubt, at Plaistow, as the date of 
sale is the same as that of the town meeting which was held 
at Plaistow, March 13, 17()4. Something, however, seems 
to have been wrong about the matter, and the sale was ad- 
journed to April 2d at Hampstead, " when said mills were 
set up anew," and bid off by Jesse Johnson, John Hazen 



* This vote, although called a vote of the two Towns, was undoubt- 
edly a Proprietors* vote. 



BUSINESS. 177 

and Jacob Bailey for $297, " After," as we are informed by 
the Proprietors' clerk, " very many bids were made.'" 

The general prosperity and the material interests of the 
settlement were also diligently looked after by the Proprie- 
tors in another way. They offered liberal inducements to 
industry and capital in order to develop the resources of the 
Town, and to turn its great natural advantages to speedy 
profit and usefulness. William Wheeler was voted, 1764, 
"One right of land" on condition that he would "follow 
the business of blacksmithing for ten years, or some 
one else for him." And he was required to " work for the 
people of Haverhill before any others," and " sufficient 
bonds " were demanded of him as a guarantee that he would 
carry out his part of the contract. The Town's blacksmith 
was not given much time to " turn around in," as he was to 
begin work on or before November of the same year, so that 
he had only about fifteen days in which to " set up shop." 
This shop was at the Plain or Ox Bow. 

The Proprietors also had a meeting, 1764, and voted to 
"give to Timothy Bedel and Elisha Lock the whole privi- 
lege of the lower falls on Hosmer brook,* together with the 
Avhole lands laid out for said privilege, provided they com- 
plete two mills by the 20th of Xovember, 1765," or within a 
year. One of these mills was to be a saw-mill and the 
other a grist-mill. 

"A perpetual privilege" was given, 1768, to build a saw- 
mill ' ' on one-half the land laid out for that purpose on Hos- 
mer's brook," on condition that the owner should put up a 
mill " fit to saw boards by the 4th day of April, 17(J1) ;" and 
for a term of five years he wjis to " deliver 400 of boards 
out of a 1000 to the man that draws the logs," after which 
he was to " deliver one-half of the boards." Johnston & 
Sanders were granted a privilege for a saw-mill at the Brook 
in 1772, and in the following year the 100 acre lot, reserved 

*Tliis was the name of the Oliveriau brook in earlj- times. 



178 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

on Hazen's (Poole) bi-ook for mill privilege, was voted to 
John Fisher, Esq., on condition that he would build a grist- 
mill and saw-mill, and would saw for half the boards for the 
Proprietors and keep the mill in good repair. Also, in the 
same year a privilege for a grist-mill and saw-mill was grant- 
ed Reuben Foster at the falls on Oliverian brook. This is 
the first mention of the Brook by that name in the records. 

Here is a side light thrown upon the character of our fore- 
fathers. They were practical and thorough men. A privi- 
leo-e was wanted in 1779 to build a " fullinc: mill," on con- 
diti(m that the mill was to be put up to do work in six 
months, and to do it in a " workmanlike manner." Joseph 
Pearson was the man that " pitched" for this mill, the site 
of which was designated as at the "falls about three rods 
above the great bridge, and opposite a little island." A plan 
of this privilege is found in Proprietors' records. We also 
learn that a " flax mill " was erected at Hosmcr falls as 
early as 1779, as in a gi-ant of that year to Timothy Bedel, 
giving him the privilege of building two mills ; one of these 
was to be opposite the " flax mill." Joseph Hutchins was 
also granted the same year a privilege to build a grist-mill on 
Hosmer brook. 

The Brook was from the first a busy place. Few clear- 
ings had been made at the beginning of the present century 
along the Oliverian, and its heavily-shaded banks in summer 
shielded it against rapid evaporation, whilst the densely 
wooded country served to hold in store the Avater-fidl. Asa 
consequence the water-power at the Brook was ample and 
steady. Here for many years Capt. Pearson, and afterward 
his son, Isaac, manufactured lumber and carried on milling. 
The manufiicture of lumber was easy in those days, as the 
forests came close home to the mills. At first the logs were 
run down the Connecticut river, but in later years, from the 
early part of the present century, the lumber was sent in rafts 
after the river was equipped with a series of locks around the 



BUSINESS. 171> 

falls. At an early date Samuel Brooks ran an oil factory at 
the Brook, and Richard Gookin made carding machiuery. 
Later, Mr. Herbert also manufactured machinery. Ezekiel 
Ladd was the owner of a tannery in tlie last century, which 
Avas continued by others to a recent date. Cloth and carding 
mills were early established, and later the Bell potash factory 
did an extensive business. Uriel Ward was a hatter and quite 
a military man. Blumly & Sturtevant ran a woolen mill. 
Paper making- was begun by Hutchins & Co., and continued 
by the Haverhill Paper Co., till it passed into the hands of 
P. F. Litchfield. Also, Joshua Blaisdell manufactured 
shoes, with George W. ]Miner as head-workman. At pres- 
ent A. AY. Lyman runs the old Pearson grist-mill. Michael 
Carleton has a carriage and repair shop, John L. Cook a 
shingle and cider mill, and Pobert Jenkins, now a dealer in 
carriages, was formerly in the marble business. Archibald's 
marble works are here. Jonathan Nichols also manufactured 
carriages. Some fifteen years ago the Pulp Mill was built, 
but it was never successfully operated, and has recently 
passed into the hands of P. F. Litchfield, who intends to 
use the lower part for a paper-mill, and has oft^ered induce- 
ments to the money-men of Haverhill to put into the two up- 
per floors machinery for the manufacture of woolens, but the 
oflPer has not been accepted. 

Along the Oliverian, as clearings opened, saw-mills were 
built at several places, the first at a point now called Pike 
Station, the only one at the present time in operation on the 
Oliverian above Brook village. The water-power is un- 
certain and in dry seasons inadequate for continuous work. 
However, it is said that at v«ry moderate expense a suf- 
ficient storage of water could be secured on the North Branch 
to tide over the dry season and furnish ample supply for all 
the mills and shops on the Oliverian ; the new growth of 
forest which is fast taking the place of the old that was cut 
away in the earlier days of railroads, is increasing, it is 



180 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

thought, the steadiness of the water-power on the Oliverian, 
so that in the course of years the okl-time water-power may 
be restored. 

At North Haverhill in early times, after the first saw-mill 
and grist-mill were built by John Hazen, mills were operated 
by Obadiah Swasey, chiefly in the manufacture of lumber, of 
which large quantities were gotten out, as the plain at North 
Haverhill was then covered with the finest of pines. This 
lumber was mostly sent to Hartford, Conn. The old Swasey 
site is now occupied by J. G. Blood as a shingle and plan- 
ing mill. Here also are Sleeper & Co.'s bobbin mill, East- 
man's carriage shop, Spencer's grist and flouring mill and 
Oetchell & Co.'s carriage manufactory. Mr. Sleeper is also 
engaged in the manufacture of corn -planters. 

Woodsville has always been a lumber point of consider- 
able importance. It was first occupied by John L. Woods, 
and since the incorporation of the Woodsville Lumber Co., 
large quantities of rough and dressed lumber have been 
shipped from their plant. They do an extensive business in 
laths and clapboards. Smith's shovel-handle manufactory 
was here till 1<S78, when it was washed away by high water. 
C C. Smart has a large brick-yard, and W. H. Hill's 
marble works are here. 

In addition to these business enterprises are the Jeflfers and 
Chase saw-mills. Bacon's carriage and wagon shop and Lewis' 
wood-pump shop. Few of these establishments are extensive 
and they are so scattered over the Town as to make no great 
show, yet in the aggregate they do a large amount of busi- 
ness, and if concentrated at a single point would present 
much outward activity. 

But there is one extensive plant in the Town that demands 
a more particular notice — the A. F. Pike Manufacturing Co., 
which was organized in 1883, just sixty years after Isaac Pike 
began the manufacture of wlietstones in Haverhill, and is 
the direct successor of A. F. Pike who continued the busi- 



BUSINESS. 181 

ness of his fiither from 18()0 to 1883. The company 
consists of A. F. Pike, E. B. Pike, Isaac Pike, Charles 
J. Pike, and Charles G. Smith. A. F. Pike is president 
and general director, E. B. Pike is vice-president and haa 
the active management of the business outside the office, 
Isaac Pike is treasurer and has the general oversight of the 
manufacturing at Pike Station, and Charles J. Pike is super- 
intendent of the quarrying and cutting of the stone before 
they are taken to the mills to be ground. The capital of 
the company is seventy thousand dollars. They manufac- 
ture all kinds of scythe-stones and whetstones for sharpening 
edge tools. Their principal quarries are in Haverhill, Pier- 
mont, and Lisbon, and their ledges contain a stone which is- 
better adapted, it is claimed, for sharpening scythes and edge 
tools than anything else ever found. The stone is of a sharp^ 
gritty character, lying in rifts, and is broken out Avith the 
grain without impairing its strength, and makes a strong, 
durable sharpener, hard enough to cut any steel. These 
whetstones do not o-laze, the lavers beino; so thin that one 
after another wears off in using and a new, fresh surface is. 
all the time exposed. 

The various kinds of whetstones and scythe-stones of thia 
company are used in all parts of the United States and in. 
Canada, and many car-loads are sent annually to Europe. 
The company also have quarries and mills in Vermont and 
New York, where they manufacture other grits of stone. 
Besides these they receive and handle stones in large quanti- 
ties from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Arkansas, Nova Scotia, 
England, Germany, Belgium, Turkey, and from other parts 
of the world. They have their agents in New ^'ork, 
Chicago, St. Louis and Baltimore. In their different (piar- 
ries and mills they employ a large force of workmen, and 
are converting barren ledges into articles of indispensible 
usefulness, which to them and to the Town of Haverhill are 
a constant source of revenue. Their business is annually 



182 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

•enlarging, and if capital, industry, energy, wise business 
plans are I'e warded with success, the " A. F. Pike Manu- 
facturing Co." must stand at the front in this line of busi- 
ness. They are also largely interested in soap-stone both in 
New Hampshire and in A'ermont. 

Stores were established in Haverhill as soon as roads 
•would permit the transportation of goods to the new settle- 
ment. This was not till about the close of the Revolution. 
In early times heavy goods were brought from No. 4 on the 
ice, and lighter articles found their way to Cohos on pack- 
horses. This continued till about 1790. From that date, 
or perhaps a few years earlier, stores began to be introduced. 
Probably the earliest store at the Corner was kept by Samuel 
Brooks. Other merchants were the Barstow Bros., Stephen 
Adams, Benjamin Merrill, Russell Kimball, Timothy K. 
Blaisdell, Rix & Cummings, S. F. Hook, William H. Page, 
Bailey Bros., Poor & Westgate. Noah Davis kept a drug 
store about the beginning of the present century, and Mrs. 
Joseph Bliss al)out the same time had a ladies' store. The 
present drug store is kept by John W. Merrill, and Charles 
N. Miner is jeweller. Henry Merrill preceded John W. 
Merrill in tlie drug store, and also dealt in jewelry. The 
early jewellers were John Osgood and Henry Towle. The 
former also manufactured the old-fashioned high clocks. 
Mrs. M. D. Buzzell serves the ladies in bonnets and ftincy 
sroods. Other business — Georoe W. Leith is a merchant 
tailor; James A. Page, harness maker; Edwin J. Facey 
deals in stoves and tinware as successor to L. B. Ham, and 
previous to that R. N. Brown was tinman, better known as 
"Tinker" Brown. Nathan H. Batchelder, manufactures 
■carriages and sleighs ; Moses B. Cai-penter has a wheel- 
wright and repair shop ; John O. Gifford, carpenter and 
joiner; W. R. Clark, repairer; W. E. Pike keeps a meat 
market. The lawyers at the Corner are Geo. W. Cliapman, 



BUSINESS. 183 

Sainuel T. Page, A\'illiam F. AVestgate. Tlie doctors, 
Samuel P. Carbee, M. D. Carhce, Henry P. Watson. 

At the Brook the earliest merchants were John ^lontgom- 
ery, Bell Bros., afterwards Blaisdell Bros., Bailey Bros., A. 
M. Bovven, W. H. Nelson. Also, quite early Mrs. Gookin 
and ]\Iiss Eliza Cross kept ladies' stores ; later Mrs. Cook. 
Tlie present merchants are F. T. Kiernan & Co., J. LeRoy 
Bell ; ]\Iiss H. F. Morrison keeps fancy goods, and George 
Whip})le is tailor. 

At Xorth Haverhill the merchants were John and Thomas 
Hall, Joshua Morse, the Hibbards, Caleb Webster, Morse 
& Celsey, Samuel B. liodgers, Joseph B. Cotton, W. H. 
Nelson, E. K. Weeks ; and at })resent, Morris E. Kimball, 
N. C. Wright, C. H. Wetherbee and W. W. Millen. 

The merchants at East Haverhill were Wheeler & Aiken, 
Davis & Abel, Arthur L. Page ; then later. Park & Davis, 
Richardson & Merrill, G. W. Richardson, H. D. Gannett. 

At Pike Station, Isaac Pike was the first merchant, then 
his son A. F. Pike, Pike & Davis, C. J. Ayer. 

At Woodsville the following have been or are now in 
various branches of business. 

John L. Wood, general merchandise; Edward Child, 
general merchandise; Ezra S. Kimball, general merchan- 
dise ; John Hale, general merchandise for Hutchins & 
Buchanan ; C. M. Weeks, general merchandise ; Lewis 
Barter, flour and grain ; C. B. Drake and G. S. Cummings, 
drugs and medicines ; A. H. & J. Burton, general merchan- 
dise ; E. B. Mann and G. S. C^unmings, drugs etc., AV. K. 
Wallace, jeweller ; S. L. Estabrook, groceries ; J. H. Cut- 
ting and Frank Smith, general merchandise ; E. B. Miller, 
groceries; A. II. Leighton and Q. A. Scott, clothing, boots 
and shoes ; George Emery, tin shop and hardware ; H. E. 
Fletcher & Co., flour and grain ; H. W. Ramsey and I. K. 
George, general merchandise ; Mrs. E. Battles, millinery 
and fancy goods ; George A. Davison and Langdon Bailey, 



184 



HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 



flour, grain, lime ; S. P. Stickney and T. W. Glover, gen- 
eral merchandise. Mulliken & Davis, stoves, tin and hard- 
ware ; F. L. Moore, grain, coal, hair, cement. 

Other business not mentioned — Andrew Moulton, Dewey 
& Young, house painters ; Ai AVilloughby, D. Mitchell, 
meat, provisions ; Chester Abbott, insurance ; George W. 
Lyons, Michael Stevens, masons'; Geo. A. Davison, western 
tickets ; Geo. H. Newell, locksmith ; Jos. Martel, Kimball 
Marshall, blacksmiths ; Joseph Willis, carriage and repairs ; 
D. A. French, music teacher; T. H. Aulis, barber; L. E. 
Collins, Woodsville Bottling Co., bottlers; AVoodsville 
Aqueduct Co. ; Page & Shurtleff, lawyers ; C. li. Gibson, 
O. D. Eastman, physicians. 






CHAPTER XII. 

KOADS AXD BKIDGES. 

Roads and Civilization — First Roads little more than Bridle-patlis — First Ox-teani 
from Haverliill to I'lyniouth — Course of the Koad — Road from Portsmouth to 
Cohos — First mention of .Town Roads — Road from the "Plain," to Coventiy 
line the Earliest Town Road — Ingress to C^ohos — A suggestive vote — The Road 
fi-om Piermont to Bath— Along the side-hill— The Oliverian Road— Highway 
Taxes and Labor— Public Ferry— Count}' Road— Roads built before 1800— Roads 
extended and l)uilt as Population settled in eastern part of Town— Character 
of Roads — Cohos Turnpike — Corporators — Improvement in Roads — Room for 
further Improvement — Permanent material— Gra ties— Road Engineers — Rail- 
road — Canal — Bridges. 

Roads are botli a sign and a necessity of civilization, ex- 
cept where water-courses serve the purposes of roads. The 
savage uses only a trail which an8\^'ers all his needs of travel 
and transportation. His means of subsistence are either 
near at hand, or can be transported without roads to meet 
the limited necessities of his condition. But civilization has 
numerous demands, and draws her subsistence from near and 
far. Ancient Assyria had national highways reaching from 
one end of the empire to the other. Along these passed her 
immense traffic and war-chariots. Rome was like the centre 
of a wheel, from which in every direction radiated her mag- 
nificently-paved roads to all parts of her vast dominions. 
Over these for centuries she marched her numerous legions 
and by means of these she drew to herself the treasures and 
products of remote provinces. 

Before the Revolutionary War there were few, if any, 
roads in the Town that could be used except for horseback 
travel. Indeed, in the earlier years what were denominated 
roads were little more than bridle-paths. Ingress into the 
territory was through unbroken forests, which were " blazed" 
to indicate the direction of the path. Over these the pioneer 
settlers in winter-time dragged on sledges or carried on horse- 
back at other seasons, the provisions antl whatever else was 



186 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

necessary for their living until land could be cleared and 
crops could be raised. Heavy goods were also brought from 
No. 4 on the ice. Judge Woodward and Mr. John Page re- 
lated to Rev. Grant Powers how they, with others, dragged 
from Concord on a sled the crank for a saw-mill for the new 
settlement in Cohos. 

According to Mr. Powers, who had his information from 
persons living at the time he wrote, the first ox-team that 
went through from Haverhill to Plymouth was some time 
after 1772, and the event excited a great deal of public 
interest. It was an expedition sent out by a company of 
persons and was more like a construction party than an ox- 
team passing over a road already prepared. The people of 
Cohos had had little hope of a wagon-road being constructed 
in the near future between these two points. Accordingly, 
when the ox-team and the men in charge of it retiu'ned to 
Haverhill after accomplishing the trip to and from Plymouth, 
the citizens of Haverhill were so rejoiced at the event that 
they went out to meet them, and the men in charge of the 
team were conducted to their homes in state, whilst the oxen 
were rewarded with an extra feed for their part of a success- 
ful achievement. 

This was the original road from Plymouth to Cohos at the 
Corner, and was at first only a bridle-path. The general 
course of this road beginning at Haverhill was as follows : 
It conunenced just south of the AVhitney place running east 
to StClair hill, thence over the low part of the summit east 
of Day's, keeping on the line of the turnpike till it bore off 
south-east past Putnam's, thence east to Putnam mill and past 
Tarleton Lake, over the Height-o'-Land to Warren. The 
points are giAcn as they now are. This road became a great 
thoroughfare fi'om Haverhill to " down country," and traces 
of it can still be seen. 

As early as 1765 Gen. Jacob Bailey petitioned the General 
Court at Portsmouth that a road might be built at public 



ROADS AM) BKIDCES. 187 

expense from that city to Cohos, and an act tor that purpose 
was passed and signed hy the governor; and in 1774 Col. 
John Hurd })ctitioned the governor to have the road leading 
to Cohos improved and made safe. So that up to 1774 
highways in Haverhill were in a very imperfect and infant 
state. 

The first mention of Town roads appears in the Proprie- 
tors' records as early as 1703, when it was voted that " the 
Proprietors of Haverhill join with tlie Proprietors of New- 
bury to look out and clear a road through Haverhill." This 
vote was reversed in the following year, and in the records 
of that date this road is described as "a road through Ha- 
verhill so as to meet the road that leads to Portsmouth." 
This ' ' Portsmouth " road was the bridle-path leading from 
the "Plain" to the Benton (Coventry) line. The road, 
therefore, which was to be " laid out" by the Proprietors of 
Haverhill and Xewbury to " meet the road leading to Ports- 
mouth," was probably a road from the "■ Upper meadow" or 
Porter place to the Coventry road at the " Plain." After- 
wards the Proprietors voted to " cut out a road from North 
Haverhill court house to Coventry line," which was merely 
an enlargement of the bridle-path.. But it is doubtful if this 
vote was carried out, since a few years later the Town records 
inform us that the Town voted to " lay out a road from the 
com-t house eastwaixl four rods wide." This vote was prob- 
ably intended to carry out the Proprietors' vote above, after 
the Town assumed the care of the Coventry road. This road is 
the one that passes over " Morse hill," and comes in upon 
the Oliverian brook a little east of the Benton (Coventry) 
line. The " Portsmouth " road and the " Coventry road " 
are one and the same. 

This road was undoubtedly the earliest road in the Town, 
and was used by the first settlers in coming into the Cohos 
Country through Coventry, as this was the nearest course in 
reachiniT the settlement at the "Plain" or Ox-bow. The 



188 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

settlement at this point was the earliest in the Town. It 
was here that Capt. John Hazen and his men built the grist- 
mill and saw-mill in the spring of 17()3. 

An early mention of roads is found in the Town records in 
connection with a very suggestive vote. The road surveyor 
was directed not to ' ' call on those who had done the most 
. work till the others had done their part." From this it would 
seem that there were even in those heroic and self-sacrificino- 
days patriots to be found who were perfectly willing that 
' ' their wives' uncles and brothers " should do all the road- 
making and road-mending of the Town. 

There was also another road described as runnins^ 
"through Haverhill from the J3ath line to the Piermont 
line." At a later date this road was given to the Town on 
condition that its course should not be changed from the 
original road, or to use the Proprietors' own language, the 
road was to be maintained "as it is now trod." The grant 
of this road to the Town by the Proprietors was made in 
these words : " To give the road, as it is now trod, from 
the Bath south line south-westerly to Lieut. Hayward's, 
thence south to north side of ministerial house, thence south- 
easterly to Capt. Hazen's, thence south-easterly a little over 
Mill [Poole] brook, thence in a general south-westerly line 
to Piermont." At the time of the Town's assuming^ this 
road it was little more than a bridle-path, along which the 
early settlers had built their houses, and which it would 
seem they did not wish varied from the original course on 
this account, so as not to be left off the road. This road 
from Bath to Lieut. Haywai'd's ran east of what is now 
Woodsville, and was the original of the present river road 
from Bath to Piermont. 

The section of road at the Corner between Col. Johnston's 
and Bedel's skirted at first along the West side of Powder 
House Hill, where the old Page log cabin stood, and crossed 
the Oliverian at Jonathan Ladd's house below the grist-mill. 



ROADS AND BRIDGES. 189 

and thence ascended the hill from that point, traces of which, 
it is thought, can still be seen on the Oliverian near Mr. 
Lyman's house. The change to the present road from the 
Corner to the Brook was made in 1795. 

In 1789 the Town ordered the completion of a road on 
the south side of the Oliverian bridge in lieu of a road 
between house lots Xos. Go and <di], which was on the north 
side, and this south side road was afterwards extended far- 
ther east " along the Oliverian brook to the bridge." This 
bridge was probably not far from the high railroad bridge. 

Highway taxes were allowed in 1791 to be paid " in labor 
at three shillings per day, or other articles in proportion." 
The Town seems to have gone into a sort of ' ' produce ex- 
change business." Also, this year the public ferry at the 
lower end of the Town was sold at auction to ]Moody Bedel 
for £30, who obligated himself to keep a good road from 
the main or river road to the ferry ; and at the same meeting 
Avhich ordered the sale of the south ferry, a road was author- 
ized to be laid out to the upper ferry from the main or river 
road, " at the convenientest place, without being very expen- 
sive to the Town." 

In 1798 the Town ordered a road built from " Green- 
leaf's mill in a straight course as the land would admit, till 
it strikes the south-w^est corner of James Woodward's 100- 
acre lot, and to be in range line of said lot till it strikes the 
road to Horse meadow, thence by Ephraim Wesson's and 
Samuel Gould's to Bath line.'' In the same year a road 
Avhich is described as "• turning off at the mills on the Fisher 
farm," was ordered to be carried to the east boundary of the 
Town, and each jx-rson along its course was directed to give 
land on his premises. 

From the first settlement of the Town till the beginning 
of the present century the only roads of any extent that 
were built, were the river road running the length of the 
Town, the original Coventrv road from North Haverhill over 



190 HISTOKY OF HAVERHILL. 

Morse hill, and the road which came into the Corner from 
Plymouth. The road along the Oliverian Avas pushed out as 
fast as population settled in that direction, but until about 
1818 there were few settlements beyond the old Pike mill, 
the present site of the A. F. Pike manufacturing company's 
plant. 

The road described as leading from Greenleaf 's mill to 
the Coventry road, 1798, is now called the county road, and 
the road from the mills on the Fisher farm, is probably the 
same as the road to the Centre from Xortli Haverhill. 
Other roads w^ere built or old ones were enlarged from time 
to time as the population settled back from the river 
and filled up the east sections of the Town. Indeed, before 
the beginning of the present century few settlements were 
made away from the riAcr road, except in the direction of 
Briar hill, and there were also several openings on the 
]Morse hill road and on the Oliverian. 

At this date the roads were imperfect in places, as for 
example the road from Ayer's hill to Poole brook in 1810 
was ordered to be made " passable." The river road origin- 
ally went by the Dow-farm house, and ran east to the foot 
of the hill, a little south of the Powers place, now j\Irs. 
Filley's. When the road was voted to be changed, in 1810, 
Gen. Dow was much incensed at the contemplated move- 
ment, and carried the matter before the covn-t in a long 
remonstrance, setting forth the inconvenience and injury 
Avhich the change w^ould inflict upon him and his property. 

In matters of roads the most important as afi'ecting the 
prosperity of the ToAvn, though not a town road, was the 
old Cohos Turnpike which took the place of the old Cohos 
road from Plvmouth through Warren to Haverhill above 
described. The Cohos Turnpike was chartered in 1805, and 
was built in a direct course from AA'^arren to Haverhill 
Corner, so as to shorten the distance between these two 
points, and was mainly accomplished through the enter})rise 



ROADS AXD RRIDGES. 19 1 

and public spirit of Haverhill people. Alas, that this enter- 
prise and publie spirit has so largely departed ! The road 
was surveyed by Gen. John DufFee, Avho in those days was 
famous for his accomplishment in that line of engineering. 
The corporation consisted of Gen. Moses Dow, Absalom 
Peters, Joseph Bliss, David Webster, Jr., Asa lioynton, 
Charles Johnston, Alden Sprague, Moody Bedel, C(d. W'm. 
Tarleton, John Page, and Stephen P. Webster, all of them 
men of ability and large influence. The road Avas completed 
in 1808, and for more than a generation was the great 
thoroughfare for travel and teams in northern New Hamp- 
shire, and made Haverhill during these years the most impor- 
tant and lively town north of Concord. 

The roads of Haverhill will average in passableness and 
comfort with the roads of neighboring towns, and there has 
been a steady improvement from year to year. There is, 
however, yet nuich room in this direction. The theoiy 
of road-making and road-mending is all wrong as now prac- 
ticed, and although the Town votes money liberally for 
keeping its highways in repair, and in altering them for the 
greater convenience of the public, it does not get the benefit 
of the large yearly outlay. There is too much road-making 
and road-repairing of such a superficial and shiftless charac- 
ter that the same work must be done over year after year at 
a cost that if doubled or trel)led at the start would give not 
only more j)ermanent results, but in the end would be far 
more economical. Bridges and culverts should be built with 
scientific thoroughness and of the most durable material, 
liome built bridges two thousand vears asfo that bid fair to 
stand two thousand years longer. Stone or iron should in 
all cases be used. Grades should be so made that little 
change would be wrought upon the road-bed by the most 
violent rain, and at unavoidable points of steep grade mac- 
adamizing should supercede the })resent method of merely 
dragging on earth to be washed ofl' by the first June shower. 



192 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

And the present method of meeting hills by direct cuts should 
in every case where practicable be aAoided. Hills should be 
flanked as a rule. AVere this method pursued with engineer- 
ing skill and knowledge, at least seven miles out of every 
ten of what is now hill road, could be reduced to almost 
level grade. The roads of Norway and Sweden are carried 
through a hill country more abrupt than ours, but they are so 
skillfully built, winding in and out, flanking steep barriers, 
that the carrol — the Norway and Sweden stage coach, corre- 
s])onding to our one-horse express — is dragged over these 
roads hour after hour at the rate of se\'en to ten miles an 
hour. They are kept as free from loose stones as a barn 
floor. Such roads when once built require little outlay to 
keep them in a high state of service. Thorough work is 
always cheapest in the end, and e^ery town should ha^e the 
service of a trained and scientific road engineer, as much as 
railroads have, whose business it should be to secure to the 
public the l)est and safest of highways. 

Haverhill was favored with railroad facilities in 1852 — the 
*' Boston, Concord & Montreal" — Avhich enters the Town 
on the east border, and runs west to the Connecticut ri\ er, 
and thence north to AVoodsville, traversing through the Town 
a distance of nearly fifteen miles, and having within that 
course five stations Avhicli furnish convenient means for 
travel and freighting. 

In the time when canals were introduced into the country 
the project of a canal occupied the attention of the people of 
New Hampshire, and a highway of this sort Avas contem- 
jjlated to be built from Dover at the head of tide-water, to 
the Connecticut river. Its course was to be from Dover to 
Lake Winnepiseogee, thence from the head of the Lake to 
the Pemigewassett river, up Baker's river to Warren, and 
then across the summit to the head Avaters of the Oliverian, 
and down that stream to the Connecticut. Elaborate surveys 
were made, but the project failed, it is said, on account of 



\ 



\ 



ROADS AM) BRIDGES. 193 

the difficulty ot" getting sufficient water to su})})ly the canal 
in crossing Warren summit except at enormous expense. 
The United States government sent an engineer to assist in 
the survey of the canal. Gen. John Duffi^c was the chief 
engineer. 

The bridges of the Town have ncAcr been very expensive, 
as the streams which are crossed by highways are not large. 
The brido-e at the Brook is the largest whollv owned bv the 
Town, and Avas formerly an open bridge. A young man, it is 
said, who was leaning against the railing which had become 
very rotten, fell off into the stream. In former times the 
Brook bridge was farther up stream near where the Pulp mill 
now stands. The bridges across the Connecticut are owned 
bv corporations. The "middle bridge" was built about 
1795. A charter for Bedel's bridge was secured in 1802, 
and the bridge was completed in 1806. This bridge has 
been built four times, once being swept away by a violent 
wind. Wells River bridire w^as chartered in 1803. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

MAILS, STAGES, TAVERNS. 

Earlj' Comniunication — First Mail — John Balch — State Routes — Postage — Haverliill 
Office— National Mails— Dutch Mail Wagon— Col. Silas May— Post Horn— Ex- 
press — Bi-weekly Mail — First stage line — William Smart— Second stage line — 
Robert Morse— First Trip— Col. Silas Maj' driver— Entrance into Haverhill — Al- 
most an Accident. — Tri-weekly Mails — Daily — E.vtras- The Drivers— Hanover 
Route — Six-horse Coaches— Haverhill a great stage center — Travel— Stage Lines 
— Famous Drivers — Their Character — Responsible Positions — Some Successful 
Men— Drinking Habits — Taverns: Bliss', Coon's, Towle's, Exchange, Sinclair's, 
Second Coon tavern, earliest tavern, Richardson's, Ladd's, Howard's, Morse's, 
Cobleigh's, Swan's, Morse Hill tavern — A great thoroughfare — Teams and 
Teamsters — Provisions — Lodgings — Large Teams — Crouch Tavern — A famous 
hostelry— The old-time tavern— Haverhill's stage-tavern — News Center— Bar- 
room — Fire-place — Flip — Mental training — The Landlord . 

Communication of frontier settlements with the parent 
populations is one of the first things to be secured. At first 
letters are sent back and forth by chance travelers going into 
the new settlements or returning from them. This for some 
years was the only means of communication between the 
" Cohos Country ■' and the towns in New Hampshire and 
Massachusetts from which the early settlers came. At the 
beginning of the Kevolution the State Committee of Safety 
appointed one John Balch a post-rider for the term of three 
months, who was to start at Portsmouth and ride to Haver- 
hill by way of Conway and Plymouth, thence down the 
Connecticut river to Charlestown and back to Portsmouth. 
This service was to be performed every two weeks, and for 
which the pioneer post-rider was to receive the " sum of 
seventy hard dollars, or })a})er money ecjui^'alent." This ser- 
vice faithful John Balch performed during all the stormy 
years of the Revolution. 

The only United States mail service as early as 1791 was 
that of a post-rider along the sea-board. But in the same 
year the legislature of the state passed a law establishing 
" four routes for posts, to be thereafter appointed to ride in 
and through the interior of the state." These routes were per- 



MAILS, STAC.ES, TAVERNS. 195 

formed once in two weeks, and the postage on a single letter 
was six pence or twelve and one-half cents for each forty 
miles, and four pence or eight cents for any number of miles 
less than forty. Post-masters were also allowed two pence 
or four cents for all letters that passed through their offices. 
Amongst the inland post-offices established at that time was 
one at Haverhill. The national government assumed the 
carrying of the mails to Haverhill soon after 1793. Mails 
were light and consisted chiefly of letters, and the era of 
newspapers and periodicals had hardly yet dawned. 

This state of thino-s continued till the bcirinnino: of the 
present century, or indeed till the building of the turnpike, 
when the post-rider was displaced by the Dutcli wagon in 
which the mail was carried. Col. Silas May was the mail- 
man then, and had been for some time before. As he drove 
liis first mail wagon into Town he blew harder and oftener 
his old horn. It. was a great event, and marked also the 
beginning of a new business, the carrying of bundles for 
twelve and one-half cents, in fact an incipient express. 
Every house he passed on the route was awakened by the 
blast of his horn, ^ivino- them warnino- of bundles to be left or 
taken. The mail was carried twice a week, and twice a week 
Col. May was seen coming down over the long turnpike hill 
leading into Haverhill, his old horn heralding the mail-car- 
rier's approach, and equally often in the week he started out 
on the return trip. 

But this lasted only a few years. The s})irit of innovation 
and ])rogress had taken possession of the Cohos settlement. 
The stajic coach was in fashion '•'• down below," and a stajxe 
line was jjrojected as early as 1811. Col. AVilliam Tarleton 
was one of the owners ; but alas I good and faithful May, 
j)ost-rider for many years, and the jolly driver of the Dutch 
mail and express wagon, was not the Jehu of the new enter- 
prise. The driver was William Smart, and the line soon 
came to grief, and it was not till 1814 that a permanent 



196 HISTORY or HAVERHILL. 

stage line ran into Haverhill. It was organized by Robert 
Morse, a Haverhill boy then of Rumney, who afterwards 
became famous as a stage proprietor, and enlisted the interest 
•of all towns along the route between Haverhill and Concord. 
The first trip was made in the spring with Morse and some 
invited guests as passengers, and the faithful post-rider, Col. 
Silas May, was the happy driver. He is said to have been 
a great horseman, and never did man see a prouder day than 
Col. Silas did as he came down the long St. Clair hill with his 
four-in-hand, blowing his horn in wild blasts and wheeling 
his coach with its grand load of passengers up to the Towle 
tavern. A great and eager crowd was in waiting when the 
trusty driver laid down his reins, and gave him a loud and 
enthusiastic welcome. It is said that just before reaching the 
Corner a linch-pin was lost from one of the wooden axles, 
but by May's skillful driving the wheel did not come off, and 
the coach reached its destination without serious accident. 

Soon the trips were increased to three per week each way, 
and next a daily coach was run, and in the height of travel 
two or three coaches going and coming were necessary to 
meet the demands of the public. Other drivers were Caleb 
Smart, Peter Dudley, Sanborn Jones, Eleazer Smith, James 
r. Langdon, afterwards a large owner in this and other stage 
lines, William W. Simpson, known better as "Wash" 
Simpson, Seth Greenleaf who became also famous in the 
days when tiie great stages rolled in and out of Haverhill 
Corner. 

About the same time that the line from Concord to Haver- 
hill via Plymouth court house was put on, another stage 
came into Haverhill from Concord via Hanover. This was a 
two-horse coach at first, and connected with the stage line to 
New York. The driver was Wait Gould. Subsequently 
six-horse coaches were driven on all the important stage lines 
that centered in Haverhill. 

Haverhill very early became the stage center in northern 



MAILS, STAGES, TAVERNS. 197 

New H;im])shire. In the heinjht of travel and before the 
raih-oad invaded these limits, there were six or eight stage 
lines that brought the mails and passengers from all sections. 
Usually they came in in the evening and took their de[)arture 
in the morning, lieliable authority states that the number 
of persons who were set down at the different taverns in 
Haverhill ranged from seventy-five to one hundred fifty 
dailv. Extra coaches were run on the main routes in order 
to meet the urgent demands of travel. The chief lines were 
those to Boston, New York, and Stanstead, Canada; whilst 
lesser lines came from the White Mountains, Montpelier, 
and Chelsea, Yt., and other points. jSlost of these were 
dailies, and used four and six-horse coaches of immense 
strength and capacity for carrying passengers. 

Some of these stages had famous drivers. Dan Field, 
who drove in the Stanstead line, was noted for the wonderful 
skill with which he blew his bugle announcing his coming as 
he entered the village, and would land his passengers after 
makinjx a irraceful curve with his team in front of the tavern. 
Another driver was '" Wash" Simpson. He was a jolly old 
Englishman, a sort of Sam Weller, and had a proprietory 
interest in the line he drove in. Then there were the Morses, 
father and son, who also were large owners in the Boston 
line ; Seth Greenleaf of the White Mountain stage, the two 
Simonds brothers, Joshua and Jehiel ; the Henry brothers, 
Timothy and Charles ; James F. I^angdon, better known as 
"Jim," Bill Fuller, and many others who had wide fame as 
skillful and experienced drivers. They were a hardy set of 
men, frequently exposed to perils, cold, and storm, and held 
very responsible positions. In their hands was the safety 
of mails and passengers. In the fall and spring of the year 
when the roads were heavy, and many points of danger were 
to be ))asscd, these weather-beaten men with a rough exterior 
])erhaps, and homely speech, were found true and faitliful t(v 
their responsibilities. Often at such seasons they met with 



198 IirSTOllY OF HAVERHILL. 

many delays, and brought in their fatigued teams and pas- 
sengers at late hours. As a rule they were favorites and 
justly popular with the traveling public. " They were also 
regarded," says a writer in a sketch of James F. Langdon, 
" as im])ortant men of the connnunity, and a nod of recog- 
nition from the driver on the box was enough to make the 
ordinary man hap[)y through the day." They had a })leasant 
word for the children, nnd were patient with and consider- 
ate of the ladies who happened to be put into their care, and 
were proud of the immense loads of passengers Avhich daily 
they set down at the taverns. Some of these drivers were 
also proprietors in the stage lines, and not a few of them 
were men of ability and enterprise, Avho, after the stages 
were displaced by the railroads, were successful in otlier lines 
of business, like Nathaniel White and James F. Langdon. 

In those days of almost universal drinking habits the 
stage-drivers were no exception to the general rule, and 
their exposed life and exacting work were a constant temp- 
tation for them to indulge their appetites. They usually 
occupied rooms in the attic of the tavern for lodging, and 
many were the gay and lively times they indulged in as 
they got together and recounted the incidents of their trips, 
find not seldom did the marks of hilarity tell of these jolly 
men of the reins. Let their names be embalmed in history 
as a strong feature of the olden times, when they Jfilled a 
place and did a service which is worthy of mention. 

Haverhill, in the glory of the stage era, was full of tav- 
erns. The "Bliss tavern" was one of the first that was 
built, and was owned and kept by Joseph Bliss, an early 
settler in the Town. This house is still standing and bears 
marks of its early construction in the finish and carving over 
the front entrances and in the wainscotting and panelling of 
the interior. It is now owned and occupied by Mr, George 
W. Leith, and stands on the corner of Court street fronting 
the commons. This tavern was the aristocratic headquarters 



MAILS, STAGES, TAVEUXS. 199 

where the judi>-es of the eourt and the hiwyers stopjKMl in 
early days. 

Another old tavern stood on the spot where afterwards 
was huilt the (ilrafton county bank house, now known as the 
" bank house." The tavern was called the " Coon tavern," 
and was kept by Koss Coon. It was cut in tvvo and moved 
from the premises, one part forming", it is said, the house in 
which Mr. L. B. Ham lives, and the other part forming the 
house owned and occu})ied by the late Augustus Whitney. 

The great stage tavern was owned and kept by Col. 
Simeon Towle, and was known as the " Towle tavern." It 
stood where now Mr. Nat. Page's house stands. Col. Towle's 
son P^dward succeeded his father, and later Mr. Edward 
Towle's widow continuc^d to keep the house. This was a 
large three-story house, the headquarters of the stage lines, 
and was a famous hostelry known along all the stage routes 
leading into Haverhill. 

The pi'esent brick hotel was at first a private house and 
then enlarged for a tavern. It was kept by a Mr. Williams, 
and afterwards by Eleazer Smith who was succeeded in its 
ownership and management by his son, Charles G. Under 
these last two proprietorships it was known as Smith's hotel, 
and was kept by them for nearly half a century. It is now 
owned and managed by Scott Fellows, and is called the 
"Exchange hotel," which was its earlier name before the 
Smiths kept it. Mr. Chas. G. Smith improved and enlarged 
it by adding the present new wing. It has also undergone 
changes under the present management, and is and always 
was a well kept liouse. 

The large brick house on Court street, now the residence 
of Dr. Phineas S})alding, was originally built for a tavern, 
and Avas kept as such by Capt. Jonathan Sinclair for many 
years. 

There was also a brick tavern in early days three stories 
high situated on the level plot between Mrs. Chandler's 



200 HISTOKY OF HAVERHILL. 

house and the stone house at the Brook. This house was 
burnt and was never rebuilt. It was kept by Ross Coon 
after he left the old " Coon house." 

Besides these taverns at the Corner there were taverns in 
other parts of the Town. Probably the first tavern, or at 
least what served the purposes of a tavern, was Uriah 
Morse's on Poole brook. Capt. Hazen was an inn-holder 
as early as 176(3 in the same locality a little north, and 
Luther Richardson kept a public house in 1774 at the 
"Plain." Another very early tavern was kept by Samuel 
Ladd on Ladd street. This house stood just south of where 
Mr. James Woodward lives, and the site is marked ])y a 
large willow tree still standing, with which is connected a 
Aery romantic story. There was also a tavern in early times 
on Ladd street where Mrs. Osgood Morse's house stands. 
Col. Joshua Howard ke|)t a tavern near the site of the 
county poor-house. Also a little later there was a tavern at 
Horse meadow known as the " Morse ta\ern," and was kept 
by John Morse, and a mile north of this was the " Cob- 
leigh tavern," where the fast n)en of the day met and drank 
and iiandled cards. This house is still standing though 
somewhat changed. The Buck house on Ladd street was 
once a tavern, known as the " Swan tavern." Li later days 
it was kept by Capt. Lyman Buck. 

The old ' ' Morse tavern " on ^lorse hill was a famous 
stopping place in earlier days for teams that came down from 
northern Vermont and New Hampshire on their way to 
Portsmouth and Boston. It was a one and a half story 
house, [standing just east of the present Dearborn house, 
traces of its location are still visible, and contained four 
large rooms below and two in the attic. One of the lower 
rooms was used as the bar-room, and the other opposite was 
a sort of reception room. Back of these were the kitchen 
and dining room. In the attic were rooms for the family. 
This was a common style of tavern-house in those days. 



MAILS, STAGES, TAYEKNS. 201 

The road from North Haverhill to "• down country " was a 
great thoroughfare, more" than rivaling the road from the 
Corner to Plymouth in the number of teams that jiassed over 
it. Often long trains of pungs and })ods could be seen on 
this road, and the " Morse tavern " would house these teams 
and their drivers over night, sometimes to the number of 
thirty or more. The drivers generally carried their own 
provender and food. Few regular meals were got for these 
teamsters, exce})t for the more well-to-do. Some took a cold 
"bite" as it was called, but as a rule they s})ent little for 
food and oats on the trij). Their provisions consisted of 
cold meats, sausages, bean porridge, brown bread, pies, cake, 
and cheese. These in the cold winter days would freeze, 
and when the driver, with the aid of the hostler, had seen to 
their teams, they brought in their provisions and thawed 
them out by the great blazing fire in the bar-room, and thus 
ate their suppers, which they washed down with a glass of 
cider or other drinks. Perhaps before lying down to sleep 
they indulged in the famous mug of flip. Their beds con- 
sisted of robes which they spread on the bar-room floor, and 
for pillows they used their fin* coats, and then with their feet 
toward the fire they stretched themselves in a semi-circle 
around the inunense hearth on which was piled great quanti- 
ties of wood. AN'hen the number was too larffe for the l)ar- 
room the reception room was used for the overflow. 

Here in the early hours of .the evening they told stories 
and sang songs, and had a merry good time. In the morn- 
ing they took their breakfast very much as they did their 
supper, and after paying for their lodgings and indulging in 
another glass of cider or flip, they contimied their trip to 
market with the same experiences at the next night'^s 
stop[)ing place. For a lodging ten cents was charged, twelve 
and a half cents for a bite, and twenty-five cents for a regu-r 
lar meal, and with what was left at the bar, the landlords 
managed to collect quite a revenue in those days. 



202 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

The fjrade over Morse hill was too great for the large six 
and eight-horse teams of a later day, and to avoid this long- 
heavy pull tiiey went, after the road was built, by " Brush- 
wood" road along the Oliverian. This was about 1838 or 
'40. A tavern was kept in the early part of this eentury at 
East Haverhill in the house now owned and occupied by A. 
L. Warren. This house became the stopping place for 
teams after they ceased going over Morse hill. 

Another tavern deserves mention here, perhaps the most 
noted tavern in the early history of Cohos. Though not 
situated within the limits of Haverhill, it properly belongs to 
the history of the Town. This was the famous Tarleton 
tavern at Tarleton Lake on the old road from the Corner to 
Plymouth, and was first kept by Col. William Tarleton as 
early as 1774, and afterwards by his son Amos. The stages 
as they pulled out from Haverhill over the steep hills, or over 
the Height-o'-Land from Warren, were sure to give their 
horses a breathing spell and a sip of water with a handful of 
salt in it, whilst the passengers were equally sure to make a 
friendly call at the landlord's well supplied bar of all kinds 
of drink. The driver was always invited by the passengers 
to take a drink, was the testimony of a famous driver and 
proprietor — James F. Langdon — '' and if he was so disposed 
he could tjet driuik twentv times a dav." Tarleton's was 
also a great place for teams to stop at. 

The tavern of the olden time was distinguished for its 
home-like hospitality. Blazing fires l)urned in the open fire- 
place in the bar-room and in the reception room to welcome 
the weary traveler, and a substantial and appetizing meal 
was sure to greet him as he responded to the call of the din- 
ner bell. Many of these hostelries became famous for their 
excellent tables, and the traveler who had occasion to go 
over the road often, looked forward with ])leasure to the hour 
when the coach would draw up to their hospitable doors. 
At breakfast he was sure of a delicious cup of coffee, and in 



MAILS, STAGES, TAVERNS. 203 

the evening after a long and tetlious ride, often over rough 
and heavy roads, he sat down to a tender and smoking steak, 
sncli as would gladden the heart of an epicure. 

As the ixreat northern staoe center, Haverhill had its 
famous stage tavern which was knoMn far and near. Its 
excellent cheer and plentiful board went through all the 
routes, and mine host was an important personage. Many 
have been the, sighs of a generation of men fast passing 
away for the good old days of the stage taverns. Modern 
cooking may be more elaborate and artificial, and abound in 
delicacies and more numerous tid-bit dishes, but the aroma 
of beef, and mutton, and fowl from tiie old-fashioned baking- 
ovens, steaming before you in ample quantities and stimu- 
lating the appetite, can never be excelled by the butter and 
grease of later times. 

The stajje tavern was the great center of attraction in 
those days, and when the stages came in from various points 
bringing in their passengers and news, the 'tillage people 
were accustomed to gather at the tavern to learn what was 
going on in the outside world. Here reputable citizens con- 
gregated and talked over the happenings of the day. Xews- 
pa})ers were infrequent in those days, and the tavern with its 
new-comers became a sort of literary exchange where every- 
body that had any thing to relate could always find eager 
listeners. The bar-room, as it was then called, with its bot- 
tles of whiskey and gin, was a large room Avith benches and 
settees on all sides. This was filled with a crowd of men and 
boys who spent the greater part of the evening there. The 
open fire-place was a conspicuous feature, and the flip-iron 
and mug were inseparable concomitants of the bar-room. 
Treating was an universal custom in those days, and the mug 
filled with steaming flip was passed around amongst the 
crowd, and everybody took a sip of the favorite beverage. 

When the news was all talked over, and the hom-s were 
speeding toward midnight, especially when the coach hap- 



204 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

pened to be late, the crowd dispersed for the night only to 
renew its gathering on the following evening. Those stage 
villages where the mails lay over night were busy little cen- 
ters, and manifested all the attributes of a small metropolis. 
These populations retired at night with a general knowledge 
of the doings and happenings of the great outside world, and 
awaited wnth undisturbed self-possession the coming of the 
next coach. And so life rolled on in those earlier days with 
a satisfaction and success which now to our swifter means of 
locomotion and faster Avays of living seem tame and abortive. 
Information and knowledge were gained then more by hear- 
ing and talking than by reading, but the people were quite 
as intellifjent on oreneral matters as thev are to-dav, and the 
peculiar discipline of those times developed many a hard- 
headed man of shrewd common sense and large experience. 
Those attritions of mind and interchange of information and 
opinion had a flavor of their own. What an educational 
force the old stage tavern was I 

In olden times the first families kept tavern, and it has 
often been remarked why this was so. The explanation is 
easy enough. Only those went away from home Avho as a 
rule belonged to the wealthy and intelligent class, and the 
tavern-keeper was brought into closer social relations to the 
traveling public than is the case at the present time. He 
was exjiected to entertain his guests not only with good eat- 
ing and drinking, but also it was expected of him that he 
would make himself agreeable and companionable by his 
abilitv to eno-aoe in intelligent conversation. He was the 
depository of a vast amount of current information which 
was dropped at his house by the coming and going of guests, 
and this he was exjiccted to pass over to each new-comer. 
As a consequence he was generally found to be a man of in- 
telligence and of social standino-, Manv of these tavern- 
keepers w^ere the most influential men of the times. They 
came into larger contact and closer relationship with the 



MAILS, STAGES, TAVERNS. 205 

leading" spirits of society, politics and business, and had 
opportunities of mental growth and insight into the ways and 
character of men that made them exceptionally intelligent 
and large minded. Mine host held a leading place in all 
affairs and movements. This was especially the case along 
the great thoroughfares of travel and business. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

EDUCATION ACADEMY. 

Early Education— School lots laid out — School money — Earliest School Districts and 
Scliool Houses — Second Class of School Houses — Ke-districting — Districts and 
Schools increase with population— Town system — First Board of Education — 
Town liberal in maintaining Schools — School Centres — The Corner and Woods- 
ville Schools— Dartmouth College Grant— Incidents — Haverhill Academy. 

The matter of education early engaged the thoughts of the 
first settlers of the. Town. At the beginning probal)ly little 
was done in the way of schools except in individual families, 
and as the inhabitants were largely composed of new families 
and single persons, the school ])opulation did not come into 
prominence in the first years of the settlement. 

In 1772 we find an article in the Proprietors' warrant to 
see if they will ' ' lay out a tract of land for the use of the 
school in Haverhill," and a school was probably in existence 
before that date. A few years later school money was 
ordered to be " paid in specie." On the first page of the 
Town records are found several receipts for money paid for 
teaching, amongst these is one gi^en by Timothy Curtis for 
£8, 19s., (xl. for teaching school five months and twenty 
days. This receipt bears date 1774. 

Although money was appropriated for school purposes as 
early as 1774, no mention is made of school districts till 
178(), when the Town was divided into four districts. The 
first district extended from the Piermont line to the Oliverian, 
the second to the south side of the Fisher farm, the third to 
Col. Howard's bridge near where now are the county poor- 
house buildings, and the fourth to Bath line. In the follow- 
ing year four school houses were ordered to be built, and the 
sum of £100 was appropriated to carry this purpose into 
effect. No. 2 was known as Ladd street district on account 
of the number of persons of that name, who lived within its 
territory. 



EDUCATION. 207 

At a later period, 1805, one thousand dollars was appro- 
priated for building school houses in the different districts. 
These houses were to take the place of those built about 
twenty years before, which were crude structures. In 1811 
it became necessary to increase the number of districts, and 
accordingly a vote was passed for that purpose, but it does 
not appear that this vote was carried into immediate effect,, 
since in 1815 the matter Avas brought up again, and a vote 
was passed to re-district the Town. A committee was 
appointed to report upon the matter, and their recommenda- 
tion that the Town should be divided into nine districts was 
adopted. From that time on the number districts has nmlti- 
plied as the increase of population and the settlement of the 
eastern section of the Town made it necessary. There was 
no re-districting of the entire Town as on the two former 
occasions, but new districts Avere formed by the division of 
old districts, or by forming new ones out of })arts of old ones 
as Avas most conAcnient for schooling, until the number rose 
to twenty-one. 

^Meantime as the graded system became l^etter understood 
and more fully appreciated there Avas a growing demand, 
especially at the Corner, for better schools, and in 1875 the 
matter of realizing such a school beijan to be ajjitated in 
Nos. 1 and 17. There was much opposition to the move- 
ment on account of prejudice and misinformation, to Avhich 
was added a fear of cost, and it Avas only after several 
school meetings and the utmost exertions of the more public- 
spirited of the community, that a vote Avas secured to unite 
Nos. 1 and 17 in one school district of two grades, primary 
and grammar, for a single year. But notwithstanding, two 
most excellent teachers Avere employed for the year, school- 
time increased several Avceks, and by the adniission of all 
great improvement of the schools was perceptible, tlie voters 
of No. 17 refused to go on another year, and tlic [)eople of 
the tAvo districts Avere compelled to accept the old order of 



208 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

things for a little while longer. A plan, however, to 
resuscitate the Academy having been suggested in 1880, 
and the plan being favorably received, Nos. 1 and 17 were 
by contract between the districts involved and tlie trustees 
of the Academy, united into a single school with three 
departments, — academic, granunar, and primarv, — and since 
that time the schools at the Corner have been in a most 
prosperous condition, and have largely met the expectations 
of the people. 

In Woodsville a graded school of two departments, 
primary and grannuar, has existed since 1872, and has 
greatly added to the efficiency and success of the schools in 
that village. In the same year the present school building, 
which, affords convenient accommodations for the schools, 
was erected. 

In 1885 the Town system went into operation. The law 
authorizing a change from the old district system was intended 
to reduce the number of districts and increase the efficiency of 
the schools. It provides a board of education which has 
charge of all the schools, and the Town constitutes a single 
school district with schools at such points as the board may 
prescribe. Few changes were made in the old districts dur- 
ing the first year two of the new law — Nos. 9 and 20 only 
were discontinued in that time — but further changes were 
promised " as soon as the schools could be accommodated in 
other places." The first board of education chosen under 
the new law consisted of Caleb Wells, Samuel P. Carbee, 
M. D., and Darius K. Davis, and the opinion is expressed by 
a member of the board. Dr. Carbee, that the change has 
worked well thus far in the interest of education, and that 
the " law of 1885 has come to stay." 

The Town has always been liberal in the maintenance of 
schools, and these have been as efficient, and have served 
their piu-pose as well as could be expected under the difficul- 
ties of a sparsely settled population in parts of the Town 



EDUCATION. ■ 209 

and the constant dimlnntion of school chil(h-cn. Usually 
the Town has voted a definite sum to be distributed equally 
amongst the several districts, and thus districts of less valua- 
tion were enabled to have longer terms of schooling without 
burdensome taxation. 

In the present distribution of centers of population, 
which will not be likely to be changed in the near future, a 
system of graded schools could very easily l)e established, 
and the entire school population could be put into reasonably 
convenient communication with the centers. These centers 
are four — one at the Corner including Ladd street, another 
at East Haverhill, a third at North Haverhill, and a fourth 
at Woodsville. It might be necessary to establish at a few 
intermediate points single schools for parts of the population 
too remote from the centers, but for those more advanced in 
their studies a system of graded schools, as above indicated. 
is entirely feasible, and should be gladly welcomed by all 
who have the interests of our schools at heart. Adequate 
compensation could be made for instruction, thoroughly 
trained teachers could be secured, and the Town, at even less 
expense than under the present arrangement, would afford 
its school population the means of an excellent education, 
equal to that of large villages and cities. 

As an indication of the deep interest which our fore- 
fathers felt in educatit)n, for many of them were men of 
considerable mental training, an article was put into the 
Proprietors' warrant of 1770 to " see if they would gi^e 
anything to Dartmouth College, Dr. Wheelock, or Col. 
Phelps, or either of them, as an encouragement for said 
college being fixed in said Township." And it was a wise 
forethought and public spirit worthy the founders of the 
Town that they voted to " give to Revd. Elitzer [Eleazar] 
Wheelock, D, D., fifty acres of land in Haverhill lying on 
Capt. John Hazen's mill [Poole] brook, where there is a 
convenient water-fall for a mill, provided Dartmouth 



210 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

College should be erected in Haverhill." There is no 
blame to be attached to the founders of the Town that 
Dartmouth College did not come to this fair spot. 

Few controversies have sprung up in the history of our 
schools, and none of these have left any serious marks 
behind. But there were those of a rather humorous side. 
In one of the districts the question whether to repair or to 
rebuild the school house came up for discussion and decision. 
Those in favor of I'epairing the old house were in the major- 
ity, but the minority were not disposed to rest the matter in 
such way, and resorted to violent measures, and tore down 
the old house. The matter became quite sei'ious, and was 
already in the earlier stages of a law suit, but by the friendly 
intervention of outside counsels, those who tore down the 
old house were persuaded to put up a frame at their own 
expense, equal in value to the old house, and the district was 
then to complete the building. This compromise prevailed 
and the matter was aniical)ly settled. One person, however, 
whose sense of justice was rather strongely tinctured with 
vindictiveness, was not so easily mollified, and when coun- 
selled with in regard to the plan of adjustment, said, " No, 
they must be punished." 

On another occasion at a school meeting for the purpose 
of uniting two districts into a graded school, those present 
were treated to an exhibition of a very ludicrous character. 
The people were nearly equally divided, and feeling ran 
(|uite high. The debate on the proposition was warmly 
conducted on both sides, sliarp hits were given and received, 
and the fire flew. The chiefs in this discussion were two 
of the most esteemed and respected citizens of the district, 
of advanced age, and both happened to be school teachers 
in their younger days. Both also claimed to bring superior 
knowledge to the discussion of the question in debate, which 
led to a challenge of their respective qualifications to be 
judges. "Mr. A. considers himself a proper judge of 



I 

I 



EDUCATION. 211 

what is best tor our schools, but I wisli I could show you 
his letter to me asking for a school, and see the spelling." 
This was a dead shot, and the speaker's eyes flashed and an 
air of" satisfaction mantled his face, as the audience smiled 
audibly. Then his opponent re})licd, "Yes, I wish you 
could see a certain document which Mr. B. sent to 
Washington, and Avhich was returned to have the bad 
spelling corrected." This was too much, and the audience 
broke forth in A'iolent demonstration. The combatants had 
each fired a red-hot shot, and both were struck in a vulner- 
able spot. 

In addition, however, to the provision which Avas early 
made Ijy the first settlers of Haverhill for the education of 
their children, they also felt the need of furnishing facilities 
for more advanced studies than coidd be provided for in 
common schools. Accordingly steps w^ere early taken for 
the erection of a building for the purpose of establishing an 
academy at a date previous to 1793. In June of that year 
an edifice which the Proprietors styled a " commodious build- 
ing " was offered to the Court of Sessions and to the Court 
of Common Pleas for their use and convenience free of 
charii-e, in which the owners, however, reserved the rit!;ht to 
hold a j)ublic school at any time when the courts Avere not in 
actual occupancy of the building. This building is described 
as situated near the corner of the road leading from Haver- 
hill to Plymouth, and was south of the spot where now 
stands the present Academy building. The Academy was 
incorporated in 1794 on petition of Chai'les Johnston, Esq., 
and others, who state in their petition that they had employed 
"a young gentleman of liberal education, eminently quali- 
fied as a preceptor, and that about thirty pu})ils had already 
engaged there in pursuit of an education in the arts and 
sciences." The name of the institution was given in the 
charter as "Haverhill Academy," and its object was set 
forth to be "to promote religion, ])urity, virtue, and mor- 



212 HISTORY OF HAVEIIHILL. 

ality, and for teaching; the youth in English, Latin, anil 
Greek languages ; in writing, music, and the art of speak- 
ing ; in geography, logic, geometry, mathematics, and such 
other branches of science as opportunity may present and 
the teachers shall order and direct." The trustees who were 
named in the charter were the " Honorable Charles Johnston, 
the Kev. Ethan Smith, Messrs. John Page, Samuel Bliss." 
The number of the board Mas limited to ten, of whom a 
majority constituted a quorum. They were empowered to 
receive and hold in the name of, and for the use of the 
Academy, real, personal, and mixed property, but the net 
income of real estate should at no time be allowed to be in 
excess of seven hundred dollars, whilst the net income of 
personal and mixed property could not be made to exceed 
one thousand dollars. It was also provided that when the 
real estate amounted to more than $3,333.33^ all of such 
excess should be liable to taxation. The act of incorporation 
was approved February 12th, 1794, and bears the signature 
of Josiah Bartlett who was the president or governor of the 
state. 

As is seen in the aim of the Academy, which is set forth 
in the charter, our forefathers regarded religion and educa- 
tion as inseparable, and in accordance with that sentiment 
religion and morality were made foremost features in the 
training of the school. A belief in God and our obligation 
to Him were considered prime articles of faith. The union 
of religion and education was emphasized in the government 
of the school in its requirement of teachers and pupils that 
they should attend public worship on the Sabbath and also 
daily prayers during term time at the Academy. 

The manners and deference Avhich the young of that day 
were expected to observe toward their superiors, is illustrated 
by one of the earlier by-laws. It required "students to 
respectfully notice their teacher when they pass him on the 
street ; also the trustees of the Academy, and all public 



EDUCATIOX. 213. 

characters." It is feared that both tliese features in the early 
education of youth — religion and politeness — have somewhat 
fallen into decay in these undeferential modern times. 

The Academy had its struggles in the earlier years of its 
career, and sacrifices were demanded of our fathers to keep 
it alive. The trustees and others were assessed for the sup- 
port of the school. Trouble also seems to have come upon 
it, as in 1807 a committee was appointed to " investigate 
the situation of the school," and the freipient adjournments 
of the board of trustees without accomplishing anything, 
show that its history was marked by many fluctuations and 
uncei'tainties. 

Its endowment early occupied the attention of its friends, 
and in 1803 a committee was chosen whose duty it was 
to petition the General Court for a grant of land. It does 
not appear, however, that anything was accomplished in this 
direction, and with the exception of about five hundred d(^l- 
lars, the gift of ^Nlary P. Webster, the school has never been 
endowed, but has been maintained by tuition and the volun- 
tary aid of interested friends. For this reason its career has 
been less successful and prosperous than it otherwise would 
have been. Nevertheless it has filled an honorable and 
serviceable place in the educational facilities of a large sur- 
rounding country, and has been the educational home of" 
many graduates w4io have filled stations of usefulness and 
prominence in the various A\alks of public and private life. 
Its most distinguished ""raduate was the late Justice Xathan 
Clifford of the United States Supreme Court. 

In earlier years pupils in District No. 1 attended school at 
the Academy, and this district as well as No. 17 had certain 
rights in the building. The county held an interest in the 
Academy building from 1793 for the use of the courts which 
were held in the second story. In 1841 an agent of the 
board of trustees was chosen with a view to transfer the 
Academy's interest in the building to the countv, and also to 



214 HISTOHY OF HAVEFJIILL. 

<jbtiiiii from the state the hind on Powder House hill for a 
site for another biiildinfj for the Academy. But after the 
new court house was erected on Court street the interest of 
the county in the building passed into the hands of the 
trustees who are now the sole owners of it. 

The first Academy building was constructed of wood and 
was burned in 1814. It was voted to rebuild with stone : 
the material of the old building was sold in 1816 to Israel 
Swan except the stone and bell, and reservation of the old 
building was made till the new one could be finished, from 
which it Avoidd appear that the destruction by fire was not 
complete. 

Moses P. Peyson, afterwards a prominent lawyer in Rath 
and a very acconiplished gentleman, was the first principal of 
the Academy, 1794. The income of the school for that 
year was £78, which w^ould be about $375 of our money. 
Tuition for English branches was seventeen cents per week, 
and for languages twenty cents per week. 

In 1801 the trustees fixed the salary of Stephen P. 
Webster, who was the second principal, at $336.36. The 
records show that he occupied this position until 1805, at 
least. They also inform us that Isaac Patterson was princi- 
pal in 1813, but how long before that time, if any, he filled 
the place is not known. Mr. Patterson was afterwards a 
lawyer in Bath for many years, and Yned to an extreme old 
age, dying in 1883. He was a very gallant man and was 
distinguished for his immense shirt collar. 

Joseph Bell, the famous Haverhill lawyer, tauglit the 
Academy for one year after he graduated from college in 
1807, and Col. Charles Johnston filled a vacancy later. 
Cyrus Grosvner was principal in 1819 but did not seem to 
have been successful either in teachinj; or in his government 
of the school, and a committee was appointed to investigate 
the matter and to rectify the difiiculty if possible, or to dis- 
miss the principal as the committee should see fit. Jesse 



EDUCATION. 215 

Kiniljall ijiiec'ceded jVIr. Grosvncr, and in 1821 ]\Ir. Mack 
became principal, and continued so till 1828. Ephraini 
Kingsbury followed him. Peter T. Washbiu'n was princi[)al 
in 183(5. lie afterwards became a distinguished lawyer in 
Woodstock, Yt., and was also governor of that state. 
Joseph C. Bodwell followed next ; he afterwards \\'as 
prominent as a clergyman. He was succeeded by Daniel 
F. jNIerrill who continued in that position for a number of 
years, afterwards going South, but again took charge of the 
school in 18()2 and continued to be its principal for some 
time, flohn P. IIum[)hrey taught the Academy from 1839 
to 1841, and Hermon Pood was the head of the school for a 
number of years pi'evious to 1849, when he resigned. From 
this date John V. Bean opened a Female Seminary in the 
Academy building, which continued for several years. At 
the close of this school, however, there was more or less 
interruption until 1880 when it was reorganized under the 
charge of Joseph H. Dunbar, who taught the Academy for 
four years with much success. 

When the school was reorganized in 1880 the Academy 
Avas thoroughly repaired at an expense of about one thousand 
dollars. The philosophical and chemical apparatus was en- 
larged at the same time, and since, and the school is now 
well equipped for furnishing a complete Academic education 
in English and classical studies. There are also P^ncyclo- 
ptedias and other needed books of reference. 

The present principal is" D. Otis Bean, a graduate of 
Dartmouth College, and the school is in a prosperous con- 
dition. It has been an active force in the educational apj)li- 
ances of the Town and surrounding country, and offers to 
all who are seeking an education excellent facilities at 
reasonable cost. It pays s[)ecial attention to fitting the 
young for college, and has regular classes organized for that 
purpose. The school has a long and honorable history, and 
is worthy of the patronage not only of Town, but of a wide 



216 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

region of territory which is poorly provided \\ith higher 
schools of learning. All that is necessary to give it a still 
wider usefulness, and place it upon a [)ar with the foremost 
schools of the land, is an ample endowment. Xo spot in 
New England has so many facilities and advantages of pure 
air, healthfulness of location, cleanliness of population, and 
safe social, and moral surroinidings as the village of 
Haverhill in which the Academy is situated. 



CHAPTER XV. 

RELIGION AND CHURCHES. 

Religion and the founders— Karly vote to call Rev. Peter Powers— Salary— Tempo- 
rary preaching — Firt^t meetings at Newbury, Vt. — Parsonage Lot — Extent of 
Parisli— Minister i)ai(l by Town— Protest— Certain Persons excused— fleeting 
House — Meetings in Houses and Barns — Union Meeting House in Newbury 
—Coming of Mr. Powers— People worshippe<l part of time in Newbury— Cross- 
ing river — Mr. Powers' Parish — Town divided into two Parishes — Propagating 
the Gospel— Church organizations — Kirst Congregational Church — Pastors : 
Kthan Smith, John Smith, Grant Powers, Henry Wood, Joseph Gibbs, Archi- 
bald Fleming, Samuel Delano, Moses C. Searle, Edward H. Greeley, John I). 
Emerson, John Q. Bittinger, PUigene W. Stoddard— Methodist Episcopal 
Church: Nortli Haverhill, Corner, East Haverhill— Baptist Church, North 
Haverhill— Free Will Baiitist Church — Union Church — Advent Church — Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church, Wooilsville — Methodist Episcopal Church, Woodsville. 

Our fatliers being strongly impressed with the ini[)()rtance 
of religion took steps early with reference to their needs in 
this res})ect. In IKi"), at a si)ecial town meeting, it was 
voted to "join with Xewbury to give Mr. Peter Powers a 
call as their Gospel minister." Plaverhill's part of the 
salary was " £35, Gs., — d., and one-third part of Mr. 
Powers' instaHment.*' In addition to this sum of money 
Mr. Powers was to have '' thirty cords of wood at his door, 
cut and corded, a year."' These were the days of innnense 
fire-{)laces and large chimneys which consumed such generous 
(piantities of wood. 

This was the first vote of money by the Town. The com- 
mittee chosen to carry out this vote were Timothy licdel, 
John Taplin, and P^lisha I^ock, who were also directed to 
ask the co-o})eration of the Proj>rietors in what they were 
pleased to call " this affair." It Mould seem from the Town 
records of XcAvbury that each town was to be a se[)arate 
])ai*ish, and afterwards Mr. Powers claimed that he was 
"■ installed pastor of Haverhill equally as of Xewbury." 

But previous to this, as early as 17(53, at a Pi'oprietors' 
meeting a \ (»te was passed that ' ' the Proprietors of Haver- 
hill join witli the Proprietors of Xewbury in jiaying for 



218 HISTOKY OF HAVP:iniILL. 

preaching for tAvo montlis this fall ;" and again in tlie follow- 
ing year the Proprietors voted to join Xewhnrv in '* having 
preaching for six months next ensuing." It was sti})ulated 
that the ])reaching was to be at Newbury. The meeting at 
which this vote was taken was the last meeting of the Pro- 
prietors that Avas held away from the settlement. Afterwards 
they met at Haverhill. The first of these meetings con- 
vened at the house of Capt. John Hazen, where in the early 
days of the Town the ])ioneers were wont to gather, and 
devise ways and means for the government and j)r()gress of 
the settlement. At this meeting in Haverhill the first article 
acted on was that " two hundred acres of land be laid out as 
a parsonage [lot] for this parish, next to the river." This lot 
was at Horse meadow north of the Hazen fiirm. In early 
times in New England the parish extended over the whole 
Town, and it was customary for each town to set apart a 
ministerial right or lot of land for the first settled pastor. 

In colonial tinies imder a statute enacted in Queen Ann's 
reign, towns were empowered to hire and settle ministers, 
and pay them a stipulated salary from the public treasury. 
Each town could employ a minister of such persuasion as it 
chose, and every taxable citizen was compelled to contribute 
toward his su])])()rt, unless he could prove that he belonged 
to a difierent persuasion and regularly attended worship on 
the Sabbath ; and this condition of things continued prac- 
tically until the toleration act was passed in LSOT, notwith- 
standing the bill of rights declared " that no person of any 
one particular sect or denomination shall ever be compelled to 
pay toward the support of the teacher or teaching of another 
persuasion, sect, or denomination." The established church 
of the early history of the Town Avas the Congregational 
church, and all jiersons \A'ere taxed for the support of it. 

As already noted the ToAvn voted in 17()5 to unite with 
Newbury in giving Mr. PoAvers a call, and appropriated 
money for his support. Against this method of providing 



KELIGIOX AND CIIUHCHES. 211) 

for the gospel there was at first no op[)ositi()n, at least it did 
not manifest itself in public ; but as diversity of religious 
sentiment crrew more marked, and reli«i"ious sects beu'an 
to nudtiply, an uneasy spirit gained possession of 
many minds and made itself heard in })ublic protest against 
what was considered a hardship and an injustice. This 
spirit was embodied in a notice wliich was served upon the 
Town in 1805 and was in these words : " We are not of 
the same sect or denomination on matters of religion with 
Mr. Smith, the minister of the Town. AVe do not attend 
on his ministry or meeting, nor do we consider t)ur polls or 
estates liable to be taxed or to pay any part of his salary." 
This notice was signed by sixteen persons. 

In the previous year ^Sloses Dow protested in town meet- 
ing against the payment of the minister's salary from the 
public treasury. Other persons about this period, — showing 
that the toleration act of 1807 was the outgrowth of a general 
protest against the su])port of religion by taxation, — were 
excused from paying minister's taxes in Haverhill, on the 
gi'ound that they belonged to other denominations and 
contributed for the support of the gospel in them. One 
Thomas Nichols was thus excused because he was " senti- 
mentally a Baptist," 

There was no meeting house in Haverhill for some time 
after the advent of the pioneer settlers, and the matter of 
building a place of public worship was first put into the 
warrant in 1761). The size of this building, according to 
a vote of the following year, was to l)e forty by fifty feet, 
and it was ordered to be built within a year. But this 
vote was not fulfilled, at least the building was not com- 
pleted, and the size was afterwards voted to i)c changed 
from the above dimensions to that of thirty l)y thirty-six 
feet. This house was at Horse meadow and was afterwards 
enlarged. It was taken down in 1882 and converted into 
a i)arn bv Lafavctte ^lorse. 



220 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

However, as early as 17(37, the Town voted to join 
Newbury in building a meeting house in the center of that 
Town on the road next to the river, and the house erected 
at that point was long used by the people on both sides of 
the river for public worship. At first, meetings were held 
in private houses or in barns. Even as late as 177(5 meet- 
ings were held in barns on the Haverhill side, for in that 
year the Town " voted to pay Rev. Peter Powers £37, lOs., 
provided he preached one-half the time in Haverhill, and 
to meet the first six months in Mr. Kay's lower barn." It 
would seem from this vote that at that date the meetings 
on the Haverhill side were held half the time at the south 
end. 

Rev. Peter Powers came to the New Settlement in 17(34 
to look after the religious interests of the inhabitants. The 
settlers of Haverhill attended church in Newbury part of 
the time, and continued so until the organization of the 
First Church of Haverhill in 1790. Those at the south end 
of the Town crossed the river near where the middle bridge 
now stands, — a path from Judge Woodward's led down to 
the ferry wdiich in the eai-liest days was a log canoe, — and 
after crossing they followed a path along the Avest bank to 
the meeting house at the Great Ox Bow. Those living at 
the Plain or North Haverhill crossed the river at the Dow 
farm and at the Porter place. In those days everybody 
attended church, and it was deemed disreputable without 
valid excuse to be absent from worship on the Sabbath. 
Some of the inhabitants had to go five miles or more. Often 
parents were seen carrying their children in their arms the 
entire distance going and coming. The church was plain 
and without the comforts of modern sanctuaries. The 
people sat on rude benches, joining reverently in long 
prayers, and listening patiently to still longer sermons, and 
at the close of the service they walked back to their homes. 

The church at the Great Ox Row was for some years the 



RELIGION AND CHURCHES. 221 

only church north of Charlestown, and Mr. Powers was 
frequently called upon to officiate at funerals and at weddings 
up and down the river, going as far south as Hanover, and 
north to AVells lliver. These journeyings were at first per- 
formed in a canoe. 

Grant Powers tells a story in connection with bringing up 
Rev. Peter Powers' goods from No. 4, which illustrates the 
sort of discipline that prevailed in the church at that time. 
It was in early spring. A person by the name of Way had 
charge of a sled, and at the mouth of the Pompanoosuc 
river the sled broke through the ice. Way, seeing the dan- 
ger he had escaped, exclaimed, "That is a cussed hole." 
Mr. Powers admonished his parishioner for this misdemeanor, 
but Way, being somewhat eccentric, held to liis position, 
saying that he could prove what he said. "How so?" 
asked the minister. " Why, didn't God curse the earth, 
and do you suppose he excepted that little hole ? " 

In 1788 it was voted to divide the Town into two 
parishes, and the line was to run on the south side of the 
" Fisher farm," but this vote was not at once carried out, 
and by a subsequent order of the Town the vote was re- 
scinded. 8ome difficulty seems to have arisen, and a 
committee Avas appointed to settle all disputes between the 
two ends of the Town. It was not till 1815 that the Town 
by vote of the legislature was divided into two parishes, and 
Samuel Morey of Orford, Jonathan Merrill of Warren, 
and Samuel Hutchins of Bath, Avere appointed a committee 
to run the line. The second parish church was organized 
at Horse meadow after the organization of the church at 
Ladd street. 

By the charter of the Town one share Avas to be laid out 
" for the propagation of the gospel in foreign lands," but a 
record of 1773 informs us that the Proprietors refused to 
lay out the share. 



222 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS. 

THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 

The First Con2:re2:ational Cliurch of Haverhill was oro-an- 
ized Oct. 18, 1790, with an original membersliip of twenty- 
three. Previous to this nienil)ers of tlie cliurch in Haverhill 
were connected with the church at Newbury. The religious 
condition of the peo})le of Haverhill was much depressed at 
the close of the Revolution, and continued so for some years 
after, wdien a powerful religious interest was awakened, out 
of Avhich grew the organization of the First Church. The 
first church building was on Ladd street, and was occupied 
about forty years, when the present brick church was bought 
from the Methodists in 1830. 

PASTORS. 

ETHAN S.AIITH. 

In 17112 the church called Ethan Smith to be its pastor, — 
l>orn in Belchertown, Mass., in 17 62, and a gi'aduate from 
Dartmouth College in 1798, — and he was ordained and 
installed, 171)2, over the infant church, remaining till 1799. 
For some reason he was not settled by the Town. He was 
afterwards pastor of the church in IIoj)kinton, Hebi'on, N. 
Y., Poultney, Vt., and Haverhill, ]Mass., and ended his 
ministerial career as city missionary in Boston. He died at 
the age of 87, and during his life he was highly esteemed as 
a man and as a minister, and was unquestionably a person 
of strong mind and character. AVhen he left Hopkinton 
where he was pastor for many years, the whole town turned 
out and escorted him several miles on his way. He was an 
early advocate of temperance, and a friend of the slave, and 
was progressive in all his thoughts and purposes. Daniel 
Webster, who knew him well, — their wives being intimate 
friends, — regarded him as one of the ablest and most godly 
men in New England. ]Mr. Smith was an author, publish- 



KELKilOX AND flll'RCIIES. 223 

ing works on the Prophecies and on Kevehition, also an 
ingenious book maintaining that the North American Indians 
Avere the lost tribes of Israel, a work on l)aptism, and a 
hand-book on the Trinity. .Vll these had wide sale in their 
day. 

He married Bathsheba, daughter of Rev. David Sanford 
of Medway, Mass., an uncle of ]Mrs. Alden S[)rague 
of Haverhill. They liad ten children. The sons were 
born in Haverhill, and attained distinction, (see Chap. 
XIX). The daughters were born in Hopkinton. Grace 
Fletcher and Sarah Towne became, one the first and the 
other the second wife of Kev. J. H. Martyn, a well-known 
minister in New York City. Sarah Towne was a gifted 
writer, and was elected one of the earliest principals of the 
female department of Oberlin College. She wrote " Women 
of the Bible." Harriet married Rev. William H. Sanford, 
and Ellen Chase was the first wife of Hon. C. B. Sedgwick, 
a member of congress from Syracuse, N. Y., during the 
War of the Rebellion, Mrs. Sanford of Worcester, 
Mass., is the only child of Mr. Smith now living. 

JOIIX SMITH 

AVas settled l)v the Town in 1802 and was dismissed and 
deposed in 1807. He afterwards continued to live in Haver- 
hill, and pursued farming. Two of his sons, it is said, were 
graduates of Dartmouth College. 

GIJANT POWERS 

AA'as born in Ilollis in 1784, fitted for college at Phillips 
Academy, Andover, Mass., graduated from Dartmouth Col- 
lege in 1810, studied theology with Rev. Asa Burton, D.D., 
of Thetford, Vt., and was ordained and settled as pastor 
over the church in Haverhill in 1<S15, where he remained till 
1821). Afterwards he became the pastor of the Congrega- 
tional church, Goshen, Ct., dying there in 1<S41. He was 
a successful minister, a man of strong mind, and left his 



224 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

impress on the Town. He wrote the " History of the Coos 
Country." 

His wife's maiden name was Eliza Howard Hopkins, and 
they had eight children. Of these Elizabeth Abbott, Mary 
Webster, Henrietta Mumford, and Georg-e Carrington (see 
Chap. XIX). Mrs. Powers died recently in Washington, 
and was very active dnring the Kebellion in ministering to 
sick and wounded soldiers. In Mr. Powers' day Methodists 
were regarded by Calvinists as not orthodox, and Mr. 
Powers, it is said, got into a controversy with Bryan ^Vloise. 
Both men were somewdiat pugilistic in their opinions. 

HENRY WOOD 

Was born in Loudon in 1806, and was one of eight children 
of Eliphalet and Elizabeth (Tilton) Wood, His fiither was 
from Boxford, ]\[ass., and his mother from Chester. The 
Wood family came from the Isle of Wight early in colonial 
times, and within thirty years after the arrival of the jVIay- 
flower records of death are found in Boxford, Mass. His 
grandfather was at Bunker Hill and saw Warren fall ; Bur- 
goyne surrender; with Arnold at Quebec; at Trenton. 
Princeton, Valley Forge ; saw Andre hung, and was one of 
Washington's life-guards. 

Mr. AVood's early education was in the counnon school, 
at Gilmanton Academy, and in a printing office in Concord. 
Then fitting for college at Meriden he entered Dartmouth 
College, M'orking his way by teaching, and graduated in 
1822, beino; valedictorian of his class. He was a t>ood 
linguist, and had mastered during life seventeen languages 
which he read with fluency. Choate and Marsh were con- 
temporaries with him in college. After graduation he 
remained one year as tutor in the college and then studied 
theology at Princeton Seminaiy. He was subsequently for 
two years tutor and for a like time professor of Latin and 
Greek in Hampton-Sydney College, Ya. Before coming to 
Haverhill in 1835 he was settled at GofFstown, and after 



EELIGIOX AXD CHURCHES. 225 

leaving Haverhill he hecaine pastor of the college cliurch, 
Hanover. For a time he edited the Congregational Journal 
at Concord, then in 1853 was appointed by President Pierce 
consul at Beirut, and aftervrards was a chaplain in the navy 
till his death in 1873 in Philadelphia. Whilst in China and 
Japan he became much interested in missionary work. 

He married Harriet Frances McGaw of Bedford, and of 
eight children the eldest daughter, Ellen, became the wife ot 
Capt. Thornton who commanded the Kearsarge when that 
vessel sank the rebel cruiser Alabama. The eldest son was 
at one time literary editor on the Philadelphia Xorth Ameri- 
can, and now lives in Washington. A younger daughter 
married Prof. A. S. Hardv of Dartmouth Colleo-e. Mr. 
Wood Avas a man of ability and much independence of 
thought. He received the honorary degree of Doctor of 
Divinity from Hampton-Sidney College in 1867. 

JOSEPH C4IBBS 

W^as installed over the church in 1835. He was a Scotch- 
man and educated in London. His ministry, on account of 
ill health, was brief, dying within two years after it began. 
He was a man of much promise. 

ARCHIBALD FLEMING. 

Archibald Fleming settled in 1838, dismissed in 1841. 
He was also a Scotchman. It was in ]\Ir. Fleming's pastorate 
that the anti-slavery feeling came into the church. 

SAMUEL DELANO 

Became pastor of the church in 1842. He was a man of 
imperious will, much vigor of mind, and quite eccentric. 
Being remonstrated with by one of the sisters of the church 
on this account, he replied in characteristic style : "I must 
be Sam Delano or nobody." He was a graduate of Dart- 
mouth College in 1823, and a trustee of that institution for 
thirty-two years. He died in 1877 aged 82. Mr. Delano 
after dismission from Haverhill was acting pastor of the 



226 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Second Church for a time, and then went to Harthind, and 
afterwards to Strafford, Vt. 

MOSES C. SEARLE. 

Mr. Searle was acting pastor from 1847 to 1849. 

EDWARD IIANFOItD OREELEY, 

Son of Edward and Hannah (Eaton) Greeley, was born in 
Hopkinton in 1817. He fitted for college at Kimball Union 
Academy, and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1845. 
For one year after leaving college he was principal of Atkin- 
son Academy, and then went to Andover Seminaiy, from 
which he graduated in 1841>. The same year he was 
ordained pastor of the church at Haverhill. After remain- 
ing nine years he was called to the Pearl Street Church, 
Xashua, then to Methuen, Mass., and afterwards, 1868, he 
returned to Haverhill. In 1874 he was elected secretary of 
the New Hampshire Home Missionary Society, which i)Osi- 
tion he now holds. 

He married first Jane Jewett Richards of Eowley, INIass., 
who lived only two years after marriage, then Louisa ^laria 
Ware of Xeedham, Mass. They have four children living, 
three sons and one daughter. The sons are graduates of 
Dartmouth College, and the daughter of Andover, Mass., 
Female Academy. 

Mr. Greeley is a man of excellent judgment, of decided 
ability, and takes large views of things. He has filled the 
position of secretary of the New Hampshire Home ]Mission- 
ary Society with distinguished faithfulness and success. He 
received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from his 
Alma ]Mater in 1884. 

JOHN D. EMERSOX 

Was born in Candia in 1828, educated in common schools 
and at Pembroke Academy, and graduated in 1853 from 
Dartmouth College. For two years he was principal of 
Pembroke Academy and then studied theology at Andover, 



KKLUJION A\D CIlUKCJlE.s. 227 

]\ra.ss. In l(Sr)8 he Avas settled over the ehureh at Haverhill, 
remaining' till 181)8, when he beeanie })a8tor of the Second 
Chnreh, Biddefoixl, ^Nle. Afterwards he was i)astor of the 
ehureh at Undcrhill, Vt., and also taught in tlie Academy 
at that place, and since 1883 he has been pastor of the 
South and North Churches, Kennebunkport, Me. 

]Mr. Emerson married first, Surah Jane Dudley of C'andia, 
and their only child Edward D. is a graduate of Dartmouth 
College ; second, ^Nlrs. Elizabeth French l>ell of Chelsea, 
Mass., and a son, Ste[)hen Goodhue, is a graduate of Dart- 
mouth College and a student now at Oberlin Seminary ; 
third, Leha Florence Kendall of Biddeford, jNIe., and by 
this marriage there were four children. 

]Mr. Emerson has written nnieli, and published a number 
of discourses and memorial addresses, of which " History of 
York Conference," " ^lemorial of the Pilgrims," "History 
of Second Church," Biddeford, Me., "Ideal in Character," 
are amongst the more important. His style is graceful and 
original at times, and full of imagination and poetry. 

-JOHX QUINCY lilTTIXGER 

Is the eighth child of Joseph and Lydia (Bair) Bittinger, 
born in 1881 in Berwick township, .Vdams county, Penn., 
early education in connnon schools and printing otHce, began 
to fit for college at Oxford Institute, Adanis county, Penn., 
two years at Phillips Academy, Andover, ]Mass., graduated 
from Dartmouth College and from Andover Seminary. Set- 
tled at Yarmouth, ]Me., St. Albans, Vt., where health failed, 
one year supplied Broadway Church, Norwich, Conn., five 
years at Ilartland, Vt., twelve years at Haverhill, resigning 
January, 188(5, and editor of New Hampshire Journal two 
years and a half, resigning February, 1888. 

]Mr. Bittinger has written much for the secular and relio- 
ious press, and has [)ublished " Address on Ephraim Jewett 
Hardy," a classmate senior year in college ; " Cairnes' Slave 
Power," North American Review ; " Christian Miracles and 



228 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Physical Science," Presbyterian and Theological Keview ; 
"Preaching and Architecture," Congregational Review; 
*' Address on Benjamin H. Steele," a judge of the Vermont 
vSupreme Court ; " Address on Elias Bates;" "Centennial 
Discourse;" " History of Haverhill." 

Married Sarah Jones AVainwright of Hanover, and of 
their children three sons and one daughter are living, two 
«ons being educated at Haverhill Academy and Dartmouth 
College. 

EUGENE W. STODDARD 

Was born in Milford, Mass., in 1860, the son of Lorenzo 
and Jane (Fisher) Stoddard. Was educated in the common 
and high schools of Milford, graduated from Amherst College 
in 1882, and from Andover Seminary in 1886. He Avas 
ordained and installed in 1886. His wife's maiden name 
was Lillie A. Mitchell, and they have one child. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, NORTH HAVERHILL. 

Methodism was introduced into north-western New Hamp- 
shire about 1800, at which time the LandafF circuit which 
included Haverhill was organized. The new doctrine spread 
rapidly. One of the first to preach it was a Haverhill boy, 
Laban Clark, born in 1778, but in his infancy his family 
moved to Bradford, Vt., wlien young Clark about the age 
of twenty, being dissatisfied with the ways of Calvinism, 
became intei-ested in the " New Departure," of those days. 
A year later, 1800, whilst on a visit to Wentwoi'th, he went 
with a local preacher, John Langdon, on a preaching tour, 
making two appointments in Landaff. Clark afterwards 
became very prominent as a Methodist preacher in the de- 
nomination and held many leading positions, including New 
York, Troy, Hartford, and New Haven. 

The exact time when ^Methodist preaching first commenced 
in North Haverhill cannot now be ascertained. The old 
LandafF circuit orio;inally embraced the Town of Haverhill, 



KELKiiox AM) ruiitniKs. 229 

and probably Methodist preaching began in the Town as 
early as 1800. 

In the old minutes we find some historic names connected 
with LandafF circuit, such as E^lijah Sabin, Martin Kuter, 
Asa Kent, John W. Hardy, Jacob Sanborn, Lewis Bates, 
Samuel Kelley, Abram D. Merrill and Benj. li. Hoyt. 
These men were among the pioneers of ^Methodism in Xew 
Hampshire, and })robably the foundation of the Methodist 
church in North Haverhill was laid by them. 

The oldest accessible records of church membership is that 
of 1836. In 1842 at a camp-meeting held in LandafF under 
the superintendence of Kev. Chas. D. Cahoun, Presiding 
Elder of Haverhill District, a great revival l)egan, which 
spread all over LandafF circuit. There were many additions 
to the M. Vj. Church at North Havei-hil'. Up to this time, 
the ]\Iethodists had no house of Avorship at North Haverhill, 
but meetingfs were held in the Congregational Church at 
Horse meadow. This great revival so increased their 
strength, that they resolved to build a house of worship. 
P]ber Eastman, Newhall Pike and James (Jlynn, were chosen 
a building committee. This house of worship was erected 
in 184o, on the site now occu[)ied by the M. E. Church. In 
18i)') it was destroyed by fire. 

It was rebuilt in 18()(). John AV. Jackson, Hubert East- 
man, X. P. Pideout, James Glynn, Jefferson Pennock were 
the building connnittee. Both houses were dedicated by* 
Kev. Elisha Adams, a former pastor. A year or two later, 
a fine parsonage pi'opertv was added, located beside the 
church. 

This church has not been without its trials and reverses, 
meeting with many losses by death and removals ; yet it has 
exerted a great influence for good in this part of the Town. 
It has enjoyed the services of some eminent men, who have 
filled the ])ul[)its of our largest churches. Among the 
))reachers stationed at North Haverhill the following have 



230 



IlISTOKY OF HAVEKHILL. 



filled the office of Presiding polder, viz. : Benj. 1\. Ilovt, 
Reuben Dearborn, Xewell Culver, Chas. R. Harding, John 
Currier, Silas (^uimby, Elisha Adams, Chas. U. Dunning, 
M. T. Cilley. 

The following are the appointments of the Haverhill cir- 
cuit, which included Xorth Haverhill, from 1830 to 1845 : 

1830, Caleb Dustin, William Peck, 

1831, Caleb Dustin, Chas. R. Harding, Jas. W. ]\Io\vry, 

1832, N. W. Aspinwall, C. R. Harding, S. A. Cushing, 
183)3, Caleb Lamb, Daniel I. Robinson, 

1834, I). I. Robinson, C. Granger, 

1835, M. G. Cass, R. Dearborn, 

1836, J. Gould, D. Blodgett, 

1837, S. Quimbv, J. Gould, 

1838, S. Qaim!)y, J. Dow, 

1839, E. P. Fletcher, W. Johnson, 

1840, D. Wilcox, E. B. IMorgan, 

1841, Geo. W. Stearns, C. W. Lovering, Elisha Brown. 

1842, E. Adams, J. W. Wheeler, 

1843, E. Adams, J. AV. Wheeler, T. P. Brigham. 

1844, D. Lee, H. H. Hartwell. 

Appointments at North Haverhill : 



1845, H. H. Hartwell, 
184G, Newell Culver, 
1847, Benj. R. Hoyt, 
1848-9, Kimball Hadley, 

1850, Charles H. Lovejoy 

1851, D. W\ Barber, 

1852, Richard Newhall, 

1853, O. H. Call, 

1854, Nelson Martin, 

1855, A. C. Dutton, 
185r)-7, C. r. Dunning, 
1858-9, A. K. Howard, 



1860-1, Silas Quimby, 
18()2-3, Geo. S. Noyes, 
l.S(U-5, L. W. Prescott, 
186(5-7, S. P. Heath, 
1868-9, H. A. Matteson, 
1,S70-1, W. C. Robinson, 
1872-3—4, John Currier, 
1875—6, Joseph Hayes, 
1877-8, J. H. Knott, 
1879, I. J. Tebbetts, 
1880-1, James Cairns, 
1882, S. P. Heath, 



UELIGIOX AND CHllICIIES. 281 

] 880-4-0, J. 11. Brown, 18<S7, M. T. Cillcv. 

1886, J. H. Ilillman, 

METHODIST El'ISCOTAL CHIKCH, HAVEKIIILL. 

The date of the org'anization of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church at the Corner is not certainly known, but is supposed 
to be the year 1822, when the Rev. Mr. Bliss labored there. 
Amongst the earlier prominent members of the church were 
Ex. -Gov. John Page, George AYoodward, the lawyer, Jona- 
than St. Clair, Samuel Smith, AVilliam Ladd, Abba Swift 
and C. B. ]\1. AVoodward. In 1828 the Methodists built the 
Brick church, but soon after sold it to the Congregationalists, 
and later, in 183(1, they erected the present church edifice, 
the o^round on which it stands beino- oiven bv Gov. Pao-e. 
It is a neat wood structure, and answers avcU the wants of 
the congregation. The present membership of the church is 
fifty-four, and a flourishing Sabbath school of one hundred 
is connected with it. A parsonage has recently been added 
to the church property. It also owns a cottage at the A\ eirs. 

The following are the names of the pastors from its organ- 
ization to the ])resent time : 

182(), Haverhill and Orford, Ebenezer Ireson, Nathan 

• Howe, 
1827, Haverhill, E. Ireson, Moses Merrill, 
1-S28, - E. Wells, John J. Bliss, 

1829, " Schuyler Chamberlin, 

1880, Orford and Haverhill, Caleb Dustin, Wm. Peck. 

183 1, Haverhill and Orford, Caleb Dustin, C. R. Harding, 

Jas. \V. iVIowry, 

1832, Orford and Haverhill, X. W. Aspinwall, C. R. 

Hareling, Sanmel A. Cushing, 

1833, Haverhill, C. Lamb, 1). L Robinson, 

1834, " D. I. Kobinson, C. (h-anger. 
1.S35, " M. (t. Cass, R. Dearborn, 



232 HISTORY OF HAVEinilLL. 

183(), Haverhill, J. (Jould, L. D. Blodgett, 

1837, " S. Qiiiinl)y, J. Gould, 

1838, Haverhill and P]ast Haverhill, S. Quimby, J. Dow, 

1839, - - E. B. Fletcher, J. 
AV. Johnson, 

1840, Haverhill, D. Wilcox, 

1841, Haverhill and East Haverhill, Geo. AV. Stearns, 

Chester W. Lovings, Elisha Brown, 
1S42, Haverhill and East Haverhill, E. Adams, J. AY. 
Wheeler, T. B. Bingham, 

1843, Haverhill, E. Adams, 

1844, Haverhill and East Haverhill, K. H. Spaulding, D. 

Lee, H. Hartwell, 

1845, Haverhill, East Haverhill, North Haverhill, Wm. 

Hewes, G. W. H. Clark, H. H. Hartwell, 
184(), Haverhill, Piermont and Orford, AVm. Hewes, 

Geo. 8. Dearborn, 
L'^47, Haverhill, Mission and Piermont, Lewis Howard, 
1S48, Haverhill, Mission and North Haverhill, Kimball 

Hadley, 

1849, To be supplied, 

1850, Haverhill and North Haverhill, Chas. H. Lovejoy, 

1851, Haverhill and Piermont, to be supplied, 
1852-3, Haverhill, Piermont and North Haverhill, E. 

Newhall, 

1854, Haverhill, East Haverhill and Piermont, A. C. 

Dustin, 

1855, One to be supplied, 
185(5—7, Not mentioned. 

From 1858 to the present time, Haverhill had pastors 
alone, with the exception of one year, 187S, when Piermont 
was united with Haverhill. 

1858, Chas. U. Dunning, 18()0, Geo. C. Thomas, 

1859. Probablv " 1861-2-3, Clias. H. Chase, 



i;i:i,i(!i()\ AND ciiuucnES. 233 

181)4, Kiehanl Ilaivourt, l<S7r)-(), J. T. Davis, 

1865-()-7, J. :\[. Rean, 1877, T. Winsor, 

18(i8, John Gowan, 1878-0-80, G. N. Byrant, 

18(UI, H. S. Ward, 1881, C. E. Kogers, 

1870-1, II. A. Mattcson, 1882, A. C. Hardy, 

1872-0, J. Hooper, 1883-4, Wm. Ivainsden, 

1874, J. Hayes, 1885-G-7, J. H. Trow. 

:METH0DIST episcopal CHURCFI, east HAVERHILL. 

A ^Methodist society was organized at East Haverhill in 
December, l8oo, by Henry Xoyes, ]Moses Mead, Caleb 
^lorse and Ivoswell P^Iiiot. Long, however, before this time 
there was ^Methodist preaching- in this part of the Town, the 
meetino-s beini-- held in barns and houses. A church edifice 
was built in 1834, and has been remodelled several times 
since. The ground was given by Isaac Pike. There is also 
a neat parsonage near the church. 

The following are the names of ministers who preached at 

East Haverhill previous to 1838, some of whom were local 
preachers, others were on the circuit : 

Elder Pn-itten, D. AV. Barker, 

Charles Baker, W. Hemcnway, 

Polder Emory, J. N. Moffett, 

Caleb Lamb, Daniel Wise, 

Caleb Dustin, W". B. Leighton, 

Xewell Culver, J. Englisli, 

Moses Cass, Charles Harding, 

Reuben Dear[)orn. C. Granger, 

J. W. Mowry, Elder Smith, 

Joseph Peck, X. W. Aspinwall, 

Daniel Kobinson, Bryan Morse, 

J. Gould, Brazzilia Pierce, 

Sanuiel A. Cushing, ]Moses Merrill, 

C. AV. Lovings, Elder Savage 



234 



HISTORY OF IIAVEKIIILL. 



From 1838 the church had 
S. Quimby, 
J. Dow, 
E. P. Fletcher, 
J. W. Johnson, 
E. P. Morgan, 
Elisha Brown, 
Charles Lovejoy, 
J. W. Wheeler, 
T. P. Brigham, 
George W. Stevens, 
D. Lee, 

H. H. Hartwell, 
G. W. H. Clark, 
C. L. McCurdy, 
Benj. R. Hoyt, 
George W. Bryant, 

This church and society is 
and has just raised $1,000 for 
cottaofc at the Weirs. 



pastors as follows : 
Kimball Hadley, 
Charles H. Lovejoy, 
John M. Blake, 
Richard Xewhall, 
Orick W. Watkins, 
Calvin F. Bailey, 
-Charles H. Chase, 
H. Montgomery, 
A. B. Russell, 
»Tosiah Hooper, 
A. W. Brown, 
I. J. Tebbetts, 
C. W. Dockrill, 
L. W. Prescott, 
C. E. Rogers, 
W. A. Loyne. 

now in a prosperous condition 
a vestrv. It also owns a neat 



BAPTIST CHURCH, NORTH HAVERHILL. 

A Ba})tist Society was organized at North Haverhill, Dec. 
22, 183(5, composed of Oliver Davidson, Asa Thing, Elijah 
Blood, George Warren, Joshua Blaisdell, Jacob Morse, Asa 
Baron, Aaron P. Glazier, Daniel Carr, Jr., George W. 
Bisbee, Zebulon Cory and Clark Baron. The following 
year the society built a brick church costing $1,533.87, 
which is still standing. The first minister was Rev. D. 
Burroughs, and from the society's records it does not appear 
that it had any other, and the organization does not seem to 
have existed long, as February, 184(i is the last entry in the 
record of the society. Incidentally we learn that Oliver 
Davidson and Daniel Carr, Jr., were deacons in the church. 



UELIGIOX AXI) CHUUCIIKS. 235 

FiiEE WILL liAi'TisT nuKrir. 

A church of tliis order was organized in the eastern part 
of the Town in 1831. There was a religious meeting hehl 
in June of that year in the l)arn of Josiah JefFers, and a 
number of persons being baptized, a church was organized 
on the occasion. EUIer George W. Cogswell preached to 
this church part of the time for a number of years, and then 
Abel Wheeler, a member of the church, was ordained and 
became pastor. But pi-evious to 1831 there was occasional 
Free Will Baptist preaching by itinerants, the earliest being 
Elder John Coll)y, a noted Evangelist, and in 1820 Elder 
John Davis of East Haverhill preached there and in adjoin- 
ino; towns. In 1842 there was a ijreat awakenim; in the 
church, and the })reachers after that time were Stedman Cum- 
mings, Alnion Shepard, Warren Stafford, L. D. Jeffers and 
J. D. Cross. There is now no Free AVill Baptist organiza- 
tion. 

UNION MEETING HOUSE, CENTER. 

The meeting house at the center was called the " North 
Haverhill Union Meeting House," and was built in the sum- 
mer of 183(). There does not appear to have been any 
church organization connected with it. Keligious services 
have been held more or less frequently by ^Methodists and 
Adventists, and at the present time there is a Sabbath school 
gathered there. 

ADVENT CHUKCII, IIAVEUIIILL. 

The Advent church at the Brook was built in 187.5 and 
was occupied regularly for religious purposes for a year or 
two. Since 1880 no religious meetings have been held there, 
and the house was afterwards sold. It is now the creamery 
building. There was no church or<j:anization. 



23 (> HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AVOODSVILLE. | 

St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal Church was organized in 
187(5 by lit. Rev. Bishop Xiles of the Diocese of New- 
Hampshire. The first rector was Rev. W. B. T. Smith. 
For several years services were held in the school hall, but in j 

1879 steps were taken to build a church, and the sum of j 

$1,87().00 Ijeing raised, a handsome wood structure was j 

erected in 1881, Avith a seating capacity of two hundred j 

tw^enty-five pei-sons. The entire church property is valued 
at $7,900. The society has thirty-five communicants and a 
Sabbath school of fifty-three. Rev. H. A. Remick is the I 

present rector. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AVOODSVILLE. 

This church was organized in May, 1885, by Rev. George 
W. Norris, Presiding Elder, and Rev. A. Twichell, wdth a 
membership of seventeen persons. In 188() the society 
built a beautiful church edifice at a cost of $2,500 and a 
seating capacity of three hundred. Although the church is 
still small in numbers, it has a flourishing Sabbath school 
of nearly one hundred. The present pastor is Rev. A. 
Twichell. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

HAVERHILL IN WAR. 

Her honorable position and officers of highest rank— List of Haverhill Sokllers in 
the several Wars — War of the Revolution — War of 1812 — Mexican War — War of 
the Rebellion — Second Regiment — Fourth Regiment— Sixth Regiment — Ninth 
Regiment — Eleventh Regiment — Fifteenth Regiment— Eighteenth Regiment — 
First Regiment Heavy Artillery — First Cavalry. 

Haverhill has an honorable place in all the wars in which 
the country has been engaged. In the War of the Revolu- 
tion and in the War of the Rebellion she has a conspicuous 
place and contributed her full share of soldiers. Gen. John 
Montgomery and Gen. Moody Bedel were her officers of 
highest rank and served in the War of 1812. In the Revolu- 
tion she contributed Col. Timothy Bedel, a brave and accom- 
plished officer, and Col. Charles Johnston, one of the heroes 
of the battle of Bennington. In the War of the Rebellion, 
though she had no office of high rank, she was bravely rep- 
resented in minor positions and her sons were in the fore- 
front of the storm and hail of battle. Their names, as far 
as can be ascertained, are recorded in this chapter and should 
be inscribed as suggested on a former page, in more worthy 
and lasting form. 

LIST OF HAVERHILL .SOLDIERS IN THE SEVERAL WARS. 

The following are the names of soldiers who enlisted irom 
Haverhill in the several wars as accurately as can be ascer- 
tained : 

WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 

1775. 
Timothy Bedel, Captain. 
Nathaniel Wales, Second Lieutenant. 
Joseph Fifield, Corporal. 
Joseph Springer, John Sandburn, 



238 



HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 



John Tayler, 
George Moors, 
John Lovering, 
James Ladd, 
Joseph Hadley, 
John Haselton, 
Thomas Caprien, 
Timothy Curtiss, 
John Dodge, 
Thomas Simpson, 



Joseph ]\Ioulton, 
David Ladd, 
Ebenezer Sanl )orn , 
Mark Sanborn, 
Joseph Sawyer, 
John Rine, 
William Haseltine, 
John Tayler, 
Thomas Simpson, Jr. 



177(). 
Charles Johnston, Colonel. 
Timothy Bedel, Colonel. 
Thomas Simpson, Captain. 
Nathaniel Wales, Seeond Lieutenant. 
fTacob Kent, Corporal. 
Jonathan Sanders, Sergeant. 
Geoi'ofe Moors, Serjreant. 



Samuel Allen, 
Josiah Elkins, 
Isaac Stevens, 
Thomas Manchester, 
John Fifield, 
Joseph Fifield, 
David Ladd, 
John Hodgdon, 
Joseph Hadley, 
Jesse Heath, 
Asa Bailey, 
William Abbott, 
John Sanborn, 
Richard Sanbo.rn, 
Benaiah Hall, 
Zebulon Hunt, 



James Adams, 
Amos Heath, 
Mark Sanborn, 
Moses Duty, 
Joseph Sawyer, 
Joshua Burnan), 
Henry Morgan, 
Henry Palmer, 
Perley Rogers, 
Ebenezer Rice, 
Ephraim Wesson, 
Samuel Lang, 
Alexander Hogg, 
Soloman Parker, 
William ]Minor, 
Joshua Hay ward. 



AVAR KECOKDS. 239 

1777. 

John A\'liite, First Lieutenant. 

Thomas Simpson, Second Lieutenant. 

Jonathan Sanders, Sergeant, 

Georg-e ]\Ioors, Sergeant. 
Joseph Fifiehl, John Loveri ng, 

David Ladd, Daniel Stevens, 

John Ilodgdon, Avery Sanders, 

Joseph Hadley, Perley Rogers, 

Jesse Heath, Hezekiah Fuller, 

Moses Duty, Henry Springer, 

Jolm Taylor, Timothy Curtiss, 

Foster, John Bishop, 

Joshua Burnam, Gains Niles, 

Silas Wheeler, Antonia Foster, 

Henry Palmer, liol)ert Simpson. 

1778 — 1782. 
Officers and soldiers from 1778 to 1782, but in what year 
each one served, cannot in e\ery case be exactly determined : 
Timothy Bedel, Colonel. 
William Tarlcton, Captain. 
Simeon Stevens, Ca])tain. 
Luther Bichardson, Captain. 
Timothy Barron, Captain. 
Ezekiel Ladd, Captain. 
James Ladd, Lieutenant. 
George Moor, Lieutenant, 
•V Luther Richardson, Lieutenant. 
William Locke, ^Michael Sattcr, Drum, 

Avery Sanders, - Jonathan Piatt, Fife, 

Elisha Lock, Elisha Brown, 

AVill Lock, Edward Clark, 

Caleb Young, Ezra Gates, 

David Ladd, Thomas Hazleton. 



244 



HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 



William Cross, 
Andrew Martin, 
Jois [Gains] Niles, 
Avery Sanders, 
Elisha Lock, 
Frederick Zilgo, 
Jonathan Ladd, 
Joseph Young', 
Elisha Cleveland, 
Noah Moulton, 
Joseph Ladd, 
Asa Ladd, 
lieuben Page, 
Michael Johnston, 
John Page, 
Smith Williams, 
Joel Richardson, 
Huo-h Barnett, 
Jonathan Pike, 
Daniel Stevens, Jr., 
Elisha Balcom, 
John Lovering, 
Amos Blood, 
AVilliam Green, 
Ezra Abbott, 
Caleb Younij, 



Josiah Pratt, 
William Locke. 
Jonathan Pratt 
Elisha Brown , 
Thomas Hazelton, 
Jonathan Sanders, 
Joseph Fifield, 
John Hodgdon, 
David Lail, 
Robert Bartley, 
John Brown, 
Josiah Elkins, 
Jonathan Cooper. 
Obadiah Eastman, 
William Eastman, 
Jonathan Eastman, 
James Eastman, 
John Hackett, 
James Gould, 
Stephen Morse, 
Moses Burns, 
Eleazer Danforth, 
Daniel Doty, 
Ebenezer Whittaker. 
Seth Flanders, 
Jonathan Morse, 



Michael Salter. 
Perhaps in justice to the Town, it ought to be noted that 
in addition to the above soldiers who volunteered during the 
Revolution, there were those who doubtless served with Col. 
Johnston in the 12th Regiment X. H. Militia at the battle 
of Bennington, as the 12th Avas made up of the militia 
forces from Haverhill, Piennont, Orford, Warren and Cov- 
entry. 



WAR KECOHDS. 



241 



WAR OF 1812. 

John Montgomery, Major General. 

Moody Bedel, Brig. General. 

George H. Montgomery, Aid-de-camp. 

John Page, Jr., Lieutenant. 

John McClarv, Sergeant. 

William AV. Bailey, Second Sergeant. 

Benjamin Swan, Quarter Sergeant. 

John Abbott, Drummer. 



Joshua H. Johnston, 
Jonas Flagg, 
Arad Ford, 
Levi Judd, 
Robert McKeon, 
»John Stevens, 
Nathan Stevens, 
Samuel Woodbury, 
Jacob Alls, 
Timothy Goodwin, 
William Jones, 
Joseph Pratt, 
Daniel Perkins, 
Levi Stafford, 
Charles J. Swan, 



William Stevens, 
Ulysses Young, 
Freeman P. Brown, 
Samuel Smith, 
Amos H. Jones, 
Isaac Carleton, 
Elisha Hibbard, 
Jeremiah Goodwin, 
Uriah A\'ard, 
Ezekiel Day, 
^\'illiam Stearns, 
Henry Towle, 
Ethan S. Ladd, 
James AA'oodward, 
E. P. A^'oodburv. 



MEXICAN WAR. 

Daniel Batchelder, Captain. 

Ezra T. Pike, Third Sergeant, 
Henry Albert, Asa llandall. 

Kinsman Avery, George W. Woods, 

John Boudle, Nelson B. Woodward, 

John W. Brewer, George Welch, 

George E. Barns, James Williams, 

John F. Glynn, Albert Knapp, 

William Gould, Jr., Charles Ladd, 



242 HISTORY OF IIAVEEHILL. 

Joseph E. Little, William W. AVelsh. 

Arthur L. Pike. 

WAR OF THE REBELLION. S 

Haverhill had soldiers in the tbllowino- reo'iments durinof 

o o o 

the War of tlie Rebellion : 

SECOND REGIMENT THREE YEARS COMPANY G. 

The fii'st enlistment from Haverhill in the War of the 
Rebellion was in the Second Reo'iment. This rec-inient was 
commanded by Col. Oilman ]Marston till after the battle of 
Gettysbnrii-, a brave and able officer. It was in the fore- 
front of danger and service for three years, and participated 
in twenty-seven battles and skirmishes, — Bull Run, Siege of 
Yorktown, Williamsburg, Skirmish at Fair Oaks, Savage 
Station, Peach Orchard, Glendale, First Malvern Hill, Sec- 
ond Malvern Hill, Bristow Station, Second Bull Run, Chan- 
tilly, Fredericksburg, in 1862 ; Skirmish at Manassas 
Gap, Gettysburg, Wapping Hights, in 1863 ; Swift's Creek, 
Drury's Bluff, First Cold Harbor, Second Cold Harbor, 
Siege of Petersburg, Fair Oaks, Skirmish at Proctor's 
Creek, Skirmish at Chesterfield, Skirmish at Darbytown, 
Skirmish at Spring Hill, in 1864. 

In the battle of Gettysburg three hundred and thirty-one 
officers and men Avent into the fight. The regiment lost two 
himdrcd and fi^e men, and out of twenty-three officers, 
twenty-one were killed or wounded in that terrible contest. 

The following are the names of Haverhill men who en- 
listed in this Regiment : 

Lieutenant, Hiram K. Ladd, died at Haverhill, second enlist- 
ment, 18th Reg. 
Harry B. Casson, died in rebel prison, Andersonville, Ga., 
Sanuiel Woodward, wounded in action, 
William E. Bancroft, 
Curtis Hicks, woimded slightly, 



WAR RECORDS. 24^ 

^^'ln. G. Wolcott, t<ocontl enlistment, Ist Keg. Heavy 

Artillery, 
Jowell E. Hibbard, seetuid enlistment, 13th Keg,, 
V. B. Glazier, 
Samuel E. Merrill. 

FOURTH REGIMENT THREE YEARS COMPANY I. 

This regiment was mustered into the service in September* 
1861, and was commanded by Col. Thomas J. Whip[)le. 
Its first actual war service was at Port Koyal, S. C., and in 
Florida. It was in the Battle of Pocotaligo Bridge, Oct. 2'2, 
l'S<)2, and lost twenty-seven in killed and wounded. After- 
wards it was stationed for a time on Morris Island near 
Charleston. In 1864 the regiment was in the trenches in 
front of Petersburg, Va. It was engaged in the frequent 
skirmishes, and was in the charge on Fort Gilmore, a strong- 
earth-work on the lines of defence aroiuid Kichmond, in 
which the loss Avas severe for the number engaged. Later 
in 18()4 it was ordered to take })art in the expedition against 
Fort Fisher, N. C, where it skirmished successfully with the 
enemy. Afterwards it returned to its old place before Ricli- 
mond. Xo record is left of its subsequent movement, but 
doubtless it took part in the final struggle which caused the 
evacuation of the Confederate cajjital. 

The following are the Haverhill soldiers who enlisted in 
tlie Fourth Kegiment : 
Lieutenant, Henry M. Hicks, 

Eben AVebb. 
First Lieutenant, Andrew Jackson Edgerly. 
Sergeant, Jonathan Clark. 
" John W. Bemis. 

Corporal, Dana Fifield. 
Corporal, James -Wilson. 
Corporal, John T. A^'olcott. 
Alfred T. Hardy, 



244 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

John D. McConnel, killed in action, Petersburg, Va., 

Jonus E. Haynes, 

Joseph Ranney, killed in action, 

Daniel C. Randall, died in hospital. 

SIXTH IlEGIMEXT THREE YEARS COMPANY B. 

This reo-iment M^as recruited in 18()1, and left for the seat 
of war in December, under Col. Nelson Converse. It was 
under Gen. Burnside in N. C, and saw its first hard service 
at the Battle of Camden, and for distinguished bravery it 
was allowed to enscribe on its banner, "Camden, April 
19th, 1862." The regiment was afterwards in the follow- 
ing battles : — Second Bull Run, Chantilly, South Mountain, 
Antietam, Annisville, AVhite Sulphur Springs, Fredericks- 
burg, Vicksburg, Jackson, 1862. It also participated in 
the campaign under Grant against Richmond, from the Bat- 
tle of the Wilderness till the close of the war, and was often 
in the thickest of the fight. This was one of the regiments 
that suffered so heavily at the explosion of the mine at 
Petersburg, July, 1864. 

The following are the names of those from Haverhill who 
enlisted in this regiment : 

Captain, Samuel P. Adams, died at Haverhill. 
Sergeant, H. L. Blanchard, killed by accident in the service. 
Sergeant, A. J. Randall. 

E. L. Smith. 
A. Stover, missing in action, 
George Cass, killed in action at Cold Harbor, 
Sumner Hardy, 

Hiram H. Pool, died at Lynn, Mass, 
John Swift, 

C. W. Sherwell, killed at Fredericksburg, Va., 
Nathan W. Wheeler, died at Hatteras Inlet, N. C, ^March 

15, 1862, 
John Flavin, 



WAR KECOKDS. 245 

Henry G. Taskcr, died in rebel prison, 

Horace Holmes, 

West Pearsons, died in hospital, 

Edward C. Holmes, 

Charles P. Pattern, died at Soldiers' Home in ]\Iaine. 

M. V. B. Randall, 

Ira Stowell, died in hospital, 

George H. Smith, 

Joseph Weed, wounded, died of wounds. 

XINTII REGIMENT THREE YEARS COMPANY A. 

This regiment left the state in 1862 in command of CoL 
E. Q. Fellows, and within a month after its departure it 
saw stern war service in pursuit of Gen. Lee, when he in- 
vaded ^Maryland, after the defeat of Gen. Pope's army. It 
participated in the battles of South ]VIountain, Antietum,, 
and afterwards enijased with distinguished valor in the Battle- 
of Fredericksburg, where scores of its brave officers and men 
fell dead or wounded on the field. The reginient went next 
with Gen. Burnside to Kentucky, and soon after joined the- 
forces around Vicksburfj, thouofh it was not in the immediate- 
assault upon that stronghold, joined the column in pursuit 
(jf Gen. Johnston, and took part in the Battle of Jackson,, 
Miss. The regiment was then ordered to Kentucky on pro- 
vost duty, and later to Cumberland Gap in expectation of 
j)articipating in Gen. Sherman's campaign in Georgia, but 
it was unexpectedly ordered back to A^irginia to take part in 
the last march against Bichmond. It led the advance at 
Spottsylvania Court House in storming the enemy's works, 
and suffered a loss of more than two hundred in killed, 
wounded, and prisoners. In this assault both its Lieu- 
tenant-Col(jnel and Major were severely wounded. A few 
days later it stormed alone a strong rebel position, and at 
Cold Harbor in a brilliant charge it captured three pieces of" 
artillery and three hundred and seventy-five prisoners. The 



^46 HISTORY OP^ HAVEUHILL. 

regiment was in all the engagements before Petersburg, in- 
cluding tlie explosion of the famous mine, and distinguished 
itself for bravery and gallantry. Its subsequent history is 
not definitely stated, but probably it formed a part of that 
^rand army that finally captured Kichmond and caused the 
surrender of Lee's forces. 

Scott Keyser, 

William Clark, died in hospital, 

George S. Humphrey, 

Henry Chapman, died of wounds, 

•Charles T. Collins, 

Joseph S, Willey. 

ELEVENTH REGIMENT THREE YEARS COMPANY G. 

The P^leventh regiment left Concord in September, 18<j2, 

in command of Col. Walter Harriman, and joined the grand 

army of the Potomac under Gen. McClellan. The regiment 

went into camp near Falmouth, Va., and soon after was 

eno-ajjed in the Battle of Fredericksburo-, where it distin- 
ct ?? O ' 

fl^uished itself for gallant conduct in the hottest of the fioht, 
losing in killed and wounded, two hundred and one officers 
and men. In February, 18()3, it went to Newport Xews, 
Va., and soon after as part of the Ninth Army Corps, it 
was transferred to Kentucky, and thence to Vicksburg, 
Avhere it was en paired in the trenches around that stronofhold 
until the city fell. It was also in the Battle of Jackson, 
Miss., and took a prominent part in the capture of that city. 
After this, it returned to Kentucky, marching two hundred 
miles on almost trackless mountain roads to Knoxville, and 
was engaged in the siege of that city. It formed jiart of the 
army that pursued Gen. Longstreet till he left Tennessee 
and then in 18^4 it again joined the army of the Potomac 
asrainst Kichmond and was enfjafjed in all the battles of that 
campaign. In the Battle of the Wilderness it fought 
bravely, losins; severely in officers and men, includinij in 



AVAi; ifECOUDS. 447 

the former its Lieuteiiiint-Colonel killed, and Col. Harriiuan 
taken ])risoner. It also lost heavily at Spottsylvania, and 
Avas engaged at North Anna, Cold Harbor, Petersbnrg, and 
all the series of engagements till the fall of Kichmond. 
The Eleventh saw hard service and always bore itself bravely 
in every battle in which it took part. By order of the V^nv 
Department, for meritorious conduct in battle, it had sub- 
cribed on its banner, " Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, Jackson, 
East Tennessee, The Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, 
Cold Harbor, Weldon Railroad, Poplar Grove Cluuch, 
Hatcher's Run, Petersburg." 

The following are the names of Haverhill men, an unusu- 
ally large quota in the Ele\'enth Regiment : 
Captain, J. LeRoy Bell, wounded. 
Cyrus Alden, 
Levi B. Bisbee, 
Frank B. Carr, 
D. J. Coburn, 
M. V. B. C^ady, 
AV. W. Coburn, 

Robert W. Haney, died at Haverhill, 
George W. Miller, died in hosjiital, 
Henry Merrill, 
J. C. Pennock, 
Charles F. Carr, 

James W. Sampson, died in hospital, 
George C. Swift, killed in action, 
George AW Woodward, 
Joseph Willis, 

W. C. Wetherbee, died at North Haverhill, 
Lewis Bean, 
Benjamin Bixbee, 
Thomas Baxter, 

Riley B. Cady, died in hospital, 
Hiram S. Carr, died at Woodsville, 



248 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Ira B. Gould, 

Amos Lund, Jr., 

Moody C. Marston, wounded, 

Elias Moulton, 

Martin Kogers, 

George Southard, died in hospital, 

Solon Swift, died at Clareniont, 

Albert H. Teft, 

Orrin M. Whitman, 

Albert U. Willey, died of wounds in hospital. 

Adion Pike, died of wounds in hospital. 

FIFTEENTH REGIMENT NINE MONTHS, COMPANY B. 

This regiment was part of the three hundred thousand 
nine months men called for by the President in 1H()2. It 
was nuistered into service in November of that year, and 
assigned to Gen. Banks' army. Its commander was Col. 
John W. Kingman. The regiment sailed from New York 
in December for New Orleans, disembarking and remaining 
in the vicinity for a short time, and then went to Baton 
Rouge to form a portion of the forces operating against 
Port Hudson. It took a gallant and distinguished part in the 
reduction of that city, being in the hottest of the fight, and 
making most heroic charges upon the entrenched city. The 
siege lasted over two months, when on July Uth the rebel 
forces surrendered. The regiment soon after returned home. 
The following are the names of Haverhill men enlisted in 
this regiment : 

Lieutenant, James A. Page. 
Sergeant, George W. Pennock. 
James Buckland, deserted, 
Koyal F. Clark, 

Charles Carpenter, second enlistment 1st Reg. Heavy Artil- 
lery . 
R. C. Drown, 



AVAR UfX'ORDS. 249 

James G. Olynn, died in ^linuesota, 

Ethan O. Harris, 

John Hackett, 

H. P. Kidder, 

Aiken Latherbush, 

Lewis Latherbush, 

Sylvester W. Marden, 

George C. Smith, 

Charles G. Perkins, died in hospital New Orleans, La., 

Caleb Knight, died at Lowell, ]NLiss., 

John D. Brooks, 

X. D. Brooks, died at Lisbon, 

E. J. L. Clark, 

D. C. Dunklee, 

Frank Ferguson, 

Hylus Ilackett, died in hospital, 

X. S. Hannaford, 

George F. Keyes, second enlistment 1st Keg. Heavy Artil- 
lery, 

George W. Leith, wounded, second enlistment 1st Reg;. 
Heavy Artillery, 

Calvin Pen nock, 

John C. Shelley, Avoundcd, died at Haverhill, 

EIGHTEENTH REGIMENT ONE YEAR CO.MRANY E. 

The Eighteenth regiment was enlisted in July, 18(54, 
under a call for five hundred thousand volunteers. It con- 
sisted at first of only six companies, and was under the com- 
mand of Lieut. Col. Joseph ]\L Clough till the spring of 
18(>5, when the remaining companies were added, and Col. 
Thomas L. Livermore assumed command. It was stationed 
;it City Point and on the James river for a time, and then 
ordered to the front. It took })art in the recapture of Fort 
Steadman after that fortress fell into the hands of the enemy, 
and was placed in the fort, a position of great importance 



250 HISTOHY OF HAVEHIIILL. 

and danger, as a constant fire was ke})t up on both sides. 
Later the enemy again assaulted the fort, but was quickly 
repulsed by the Eighteenth, but with the loss of ^Nlajor 
Brown who fell in the action. Afterwards the regiment was 
ordeix'd to make a charge on the rebels in front of Fort 
Steadman, but finding them in full force the attack was 
abandoned. On the 3d of April after the fall of Petersl)urg 
the Eighteenth marched into the city of Richmond, and then 
soon after went to Washington, where it did (juard duty 
during the trial of the assassins of President Lincoln. The 
regiment was mustered out at Concord in the summer of 
18(i5. The career of the Eighteenth was short but honor- 
able, and by order of the AVar Department the names of the 
following engagements were placed upon the colors of the 
regiment : 

" Fort Steadman, ]\Iarch 25, 1<S(35 ; attack on Peters- 
burg, April 2, 18()5 ; capture of Petersburg, April 3, 
1865." 

Sergeant, Harlan S. Blanchard, died at Haverhill. 
Frank D. Davis, killed on railroad. 
O. S. Hicks, 
Don F. Willis, 

Levi Bradish, died in Minnesota, 
S. H. Butterfield, 
Joseph Came, deserter at Concord, 
Simeon E. Puffer, 
Pearson Wallace. 

FIRST REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY ONE YEAR COM- 
PANY L. 

This regiment began to be recruited in sections in 18()3. 
At first there was only two companies, then four, and after 
ten companies were raised they were organized into a regi- 
ment. Col. Charles H. Long was its commander. The 
early companies did garrison duty at Portsmouth before the 



WAU ItECOIIDS. 251 

regiment \vas i)laced on duty in the fortifications around 
AVasliington. Two batteries returned to Portsmouth in the 
fall and winter of 18(14-5. The remaining companies garri- 
soned a line of works ten miles in extent, and gained great 
})roficiency in artillery drill. Tiie regiment was mustered 
out of service in June, 18(>5. The history of this organiza- 
tion is brief and not of startling interest, but it rendered 
valuable service at a critical time. ]VIost of the men had 
seen from one to three years service in the earlier period of 
the war. 

Corporal, Orrin Simpson, 

Ezekiel Day, died in hospital, Washington, I). C, 
Joseph Deland, 

Henry M. Miner, died at Haverhill, 
John Stearns, 
Patrick Baldwin, 
John Day, 
Charles Goodwin, 
C. J. Pike, 
George AV. Woods. 

FIllST CAVALRY THREE YEARS COMPANIES A, C, I. 

This regiment was raised in the spring of 1864. Four 
€omj)anies were formerly a part of the First Khode Island 
Cavaliy, and were raised in 18()1. The Xew Hampshire 
companies forming a battalion, were commanded by Maj. 
David B. Nelson. The winter was spent in camp at Con- 
cord and at Pawtucket, R. I., and in March, 18(52, the I'eg- 
iment was ordered to Washington and later to Warrenton 
Junction to protect the Capital. Gen. Banks being driven 
back in the Shenandoah ^'alley the battalion was ordered 
there and did valoi'ous deeds before Fort Poyal, capturing 
more prisoners than there were men in the battalion. It 
was also at Port Pepublic under Gen. Shields, when Gen. 
Pope's " Army of Virginia "was acting against Richmond by 



252 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

way of Culpepper Court House, the regiment now united^ 
formed a part of his forces, and was conspicuous in all the 
battles of that disastrous campaign, South Mountain, Grove- 
ton, Second Bull Run and Chantilly, and in the retreat of 
the army it rendered valient service in protecting the rear, 
and holding in check the enemy. Afterwards it was active 
in Virginia, and took part in the engagement at Kelley's 
Ford, and was with Gen. Stoneman in his famous raid wherb 
Gen. Lee started on his Pennsylvania campaign, the regi- 
ment was sent to Thoroughfare Gap, where it defeated the 
enemy, and then attacked Middleburg, but was forced to 
I'etreat after a brave and obstinate fight against superior 
numbers, cutting its way through the enemy's lines. The 
regiment reached the main body of troojis a mere fragment. 
It was ordered to Gettysburg, and afterwards was in the 
battles of Bristow Station and Auburn. 

In January, 1864, the New Hampshire battalion was per- 
manently detached from the First Khode Island Cavalry, and 
the veterans of the battalion re-enlisting, formed the nucleus 
of the First New Hampshire Cavalry. When organized, it 
was sent to Washington under command of Col. JohnL. 
Thompson, and took an active part in Grant's campaign 
ao^ainst Richmond. It was in Gen. AVilson's celebrated raid 
along the Welden railroad, in which it saw hard service. 
Afterwards it was with Gen. Sheridan in Shenandoah Valley 
and fought with great bravery in that campaign. The regi- 
ment was mustered out of service in July, 1865. 

The later recruits of this regiment were generally bounty- 
men, and as a class, were worthless, l)ut the first seven com- 
panies were composed of the sons of Xew Hampshire and 
were brave and soldierly men who reflected honor upon the 
State. 

Lieutenant, George Morrison. 
Sergeant, PI. H. Morrison. 
Corporal, Hiram S. Kellum, died at Haverhill. 



i 



WAR KECOHDS. 253 

Xatt AVestgate, died in rebel prison Danville, Va., Jan. 7, 

1865. 
George Cutting, 

Byron Carr, lost an arm in action, 
J. B. Davis, 
Edwin St. Clair, 
Simon Cutting, 
Simon Elliott, 
Jerome Carr, died in rebel prison Danville, Va. 

The following Haverhill men enlisted in regiments in 

other states : 

John Chapman, 17th Reg. Yt. Volunteers, 

James Boswell, 1st Reg. Vt. Cavalry, 

Henry C. AVright, 12th lleg. Vt. Volunteers, died in hos- 
pital, 

AVilliam Dean, 12th Reg. Vt. Volunteers, 

AVesley Porter, Mass. Regiment, died in hospital, 

Lyford Bailey, 9th Vt. Volunteers, died in hospital, 

John Copp, 9th Vt. Volunteers, 

George Copp, 9th Vt. Volunteers, 

George Perkins, 9th Vt. Volunteers, 

Robert Arnold, 9th Vt. Volunteers, 

Silas AVoodward, 9th A't. Volunteers, died in hospital, 

John H. Day, 9tli \t. Volunteers, second enlistment 1st 
Reg. X. H. Heavy Artillery, 

Chester M. Carleton, Missouri Regiment. 



CHAPTER XVII. • 

THE LAWYERS OF HAVERHILL. 

Moses Dow— Allien Sprague — John Porter — Moses Dow, Jr. — George M^oodward — 
Joseph Emerson Dow — John Nelson — Henry Hutchinson — David Sloan — Joseph 
Bell — Samuel Courtland— Edmund Carleton — Hale A. Johnston— Edward 11. 
Olcott — Daniel Blaisdell — Jonathan Bliss — William H. Duncan — Samuel C. 
Webster— Nathan B. Felton— David Dickey— David H. Collins— Jonas Darius 
Sleeper— John S. Bryant— David Page— Charles E. Thompson — George W. 
Chapman — Charles R. MoiTison — Nathaniel W. Westgate — George F. Putnam — 
Luther C. IMorse — Samuel T. Page— Samuel B. Page— William F. AVestgate. 

From the fact that Haverhill has been a shire town since 
1773, she has held a more or less prominent position on 
account of her lawyers, some of whom have been amongst 
the ablest and most distinguished in the state. And as the 
legal profession has always exerted a powerful influence in 
the community, I have deemed it proper to sketch the lives of 
all lawyers who have practiced their profession in the Town. 
Of some only a few facts have been learned, whilst of others 
of less note the biographies are necessarily brief. Of some, 
however, the sketches have been made as full as the limits of 
the chapter would admit, and their character and fame is 
gladly committed to this keeping. 

MOSES DOW. 

The exact time when Gen. Dow came to Haverhill is not 
certainly known, but it must have been previous to 1774, as 
in that year he was a})pointed by the Court of the General 
Sessions of the Peace to act as king's attorney in the absence 
of the attorney-general. His native place was Atkinson, 
and his father's name was John Dow. Of his early educa- 
tion we have no information, but his academic course was 
pursued at Harvard College, from which he graduated in 
1761). When and with whom he read law is also unknown. 
He began the practice of his profession in all probability at 
Haverhill soon after his admission to the bar, and continued to 



LAWVEliS. 255 

do so till he was a[)pointetl a judge of the Court ot" C'oimnon 
Pleas, with an interru])tion of five years at Plymouth. He 
was also probably the earliest permanently settled lawyer of 
Cirafton county. He was unquestionably one of the strong 
and leading lawyers in the ^ early history of the Grafton 
county bar, and held a prominent position not only in his 
profession, but also in popular esteem. His name occurs 
repeatedly in the town records as taking an active part in 
town affairs, and he filled various town offices from 17(So till 
toward the close of his life. In addition to these more local 
places of service and honor, he was called into larger s})heres 
of trust. For four years he was solicitor for Grafton county, 
and from 1774, for a period of thirty years, he was I'Cgister 
of probate. In 1780-81 he represented the Town of Ha- 
verhill in the legislature, and as early as 1790 he was a 
member of the state senate, of which body he was chosen 
president during his term of senatorial service. Previous to 
this he was a member of the governor's council. He was 
interested in military matters and was major-general of the 
state militia. In 1808 he was appointed a judge of the 
(^ourt of Conunon Pleas for Grafton county, which office he 
held till the close of his life. Gen. Dow was also elected in 
1784 to the Congress of the United States by the General 
Assembly of New Hampshire, but declined the honor on the 
ground that he did not feel himself qualified for the high 
responsibilities of the position. In his letter to the governor • 
he says : " As I have had no apprehension [no thought 
of being called to so responsil)le a position] I had entirely 
neglected every necessary preparation. * * * Xhe pres- 
ent infirm state of my health, the real conviction of my ine- 
quality to the business of the mission, render it extremely 
difficult, or rather impossible, for me to engage in a trust so 
arduous and interesting." The average congressman of 
to-day would vote such modesty and patriotic conscientious- 
ness as l)lank idiocv. 



256 HISTORY OF HAVEIIHILL. 

Gen. Dow was the second postmaster of Haverhill. He 
took a deep interest in all local matters, and was active in 
j)romoting the welfare of the Town. His name appears as 
one of the incorporators of Haverhill Academy, and he was 
a heavy subscriber to the stock, of a bridge company, for the 
purpose of building a bridge across the Connecticut river at 
Haverhill. He was the owner of the " Dow form," so called 
in local parlance, a tract of land two and a half miles 
north of Haverhill Corner, where he resided during the early 
part of his life, and after he moved to the Corner he lived 
in the house now owned and occupied by Milo Bailey. 

Gen. Dow was a man of great independence of mind, 
and early led oft' in a protest against being taxed for the 
preaching of the gospel. He was fond of discussion, 
especially the discussion of religious questions. In person 
he was tall and commanding, with dignified bearing and 
courtly manners. As a citizen he was enterprising, ener- 
getic, a true and earnest patriot, and a man of high charac- 
ter and fine literary attainments. His prominent standing in 
his profession, and his great abilities, made him not only a 
foremost citizen of the Town, but eminent in the county and 
in the state. Dartmouth College bestowed upon him the 
honorary degree of a. m. in 1785. 

Gen. Dow married Phebe Emerson, and they had four 
children, two sons and two daughters. He died in Haver- 
hill in 1811. 

ALDEN SPRAGUE. 

Alden Sprague's ancestors came to Plymouth, Mass., from 
Plymouth, England, in 1623, and were afterwards amongst 
the prominent people of Rochester, Mass. At what period 
Alden came to Haverhill is not known, but it must have 
been earlier than 1796, for in that year he was one of the 
Selectmen of the Town. He is supposed to have pursued 
his professional studies in the oflfice of his half-ljrother, Hon. 
Peleg Sprague, a prominent lawyer and a member of Con- 



LAWVEIIS. 257 

gress in 1797— 1M>. ]\Ii-. S[)rague married twice: first, a 
cousin of liev. Ethan Smith's wife, said to have been a very 
beautiful woman. By this marriage there were two chikh'en, 
Betsy and Harriet. The former l)ecame the wife of James 
I. Swan of Bath, a very able and distinguished lawyer whom 
the late Isaac Patterson said was the equal of Daniel Wel)- 
gter in eloquence, both of whom on one occasion he heard in 
an important case at Plymouth. Harriet married Hamlin 
Rand, father of the late Judge Pand of Lisbon, and Hon. 
Charles W. Rand of Littleton. Mr. Sprague's second wife 
was Eunice Stoddard, said to have been a woman of remark- 
able accomplishments, and they had five cliildren, two sons 
and three daughters. The eldest, Xoah Paul, married Abiah 
Carleton of Bath, and moved to Buffalo, N. Y., where he 
engaged in mercantile life till his death. Only one of his 
children survived infancy, Hon. E. C. Sprague who is now 
a prominent lawyer of Buffalo and author of the famous 
Sprague— Clark letter in the Cleveland— Blaine campaign, 
which refuted the Buftalo slanders against Mr. Cleveland. 
Mr. Sprague's second son, Alden, became a very eminent 
physician in western Xew York. C)f the daughters, ]Mrs. 
Eenton of Beloit, Wis., and Mrs. ^lartin of Peacham, Vt., 
are still living. 

Mr. Sprague was a distinguished member of the Grafton 
county bar in its earlier days, and a man of prominence in 
Town. He was a trustee of Haverhill Academy. In per- 
sonal appearance he is describetl as tall and dignified, genteel 
and manly in bearing, and was very fond of society, of which 
he was a great favorite, on account of his brilliant con\ersa- 
tions. He died at the ao-e of fortv. 

The following anecdote was related by one who knew ]Mr. 
Sprague. Col. Jonathan Tyler, one of the early settlers of 
Piermont and a prominent man in its early history, having 
occasion to consult jNIr. Sprague on some matter of law- 
went on to stale his case. The young lawyer paid no attcn- 



258 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

tion t(j him, but ke})t on writing. At length ]\Ir. Tjlcr took 
the hint and put a doHar on the table, Avhen ]Mr. Sprague 
rubbed his hands in satisfaction, and said he was now ready 
for business. Col. Tyler had a good memory. Some time 
after, Mr. Sprague made a bet with some one that he could 
hunt more ])artridgcs than any other person. Col. Tyler 
had a famous hunting dog and Mr. Sprague secured his ser- 
vices in the hunt, l)ut it was necessary for the Colonel to go 
with the doo- to direct him. Instead, however, of settinsT 
the dog on, he secretly by a motion of the hand kept the dog 
back. After some trudging through the Piermont woods in 
fruitless search of jiartridges, Sprague 1n-oke out, "Tyler, 
why don't he hunt?'' Whereupon Tyler dryly remarked 
that his dog never hunted until he got a dollar. 

JOHN rOKTER 

Was born in Haverhill in 17()9, and was the son of Col. 
Asa Porter. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 
17<S7, and read law in Chester. After [)ractising there for 
some years he returned to Haverhill about 17114 and re- 
mained there till 1800, when he moved to Broone, Canada. 

MOSES DOAV, .Til. 

Was born in Haverhill and was the oldest son of Gen. 
Moses Dow. He studied law with his father and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1800, practising his profession from that 
time till 1838, In 1808 he was appointed register of pro- 
bate, and continued to hold that office till l(So8. He was 
also for a munber of yeai's postmaster, but was removed by 
Gen. Jackson. He was not a man of much force of charac- 
ter, and took no prominent part in town matters. In the 
famous Dow— Bell breach of j)romise case, Attorney Gen- 
eral Sullivan in speaking of Dow's testimony, said, " Dow 
appears pretty well, and generally has a ruffled shirt On, but 
it isn't always clean." 



LAWYERS. 25S> 

GEORGE WOODWARD 

\Vas horn in Hanover in 1776, and was a grand.'^ou of the 
elder President AViieeloek of Dartmouth College, from which 
insititiition he <>"ra<liiated in 17!)8. Ilis father was Judsre 
lU'zaleel Woodward of Hanover, and he began the practice 
of law at Haverhill in 1(S()5, previous to which time he wfis 
treasurer of Dartmouth College for two years. He contin- 
ued at Haverhill till 1816, when he moved to Lowell, Mass., 
and resumed the practice of his profession in that city. He 
was married twice, his first wife being the daughter of Capt. 
David AYebster of Plymouth, his second the daughter of 
William Leverett, a prominent citizen of AVindsor, Vt. 
One of his daughters by the last marriage is the wife of 
Judge Warren Currier of St. Louis, ]Mo. .Vlso a son, 
Henry, is living in St. Louis, and another, AVilliam, lives 
in Brooklyn, X. Y. Mr. AYoodward was a man of promi- 
nence and high character. He died in 1<S36. 

JOSEPH E.AIEKSOX DOW 

AYas the second son of Gen. Moses Dow, and was born in 
Haverhill in 177<S. He studied at Haverhill Academy and 
was a graduate of Dartmouth College in 17!)U. His })rofes- 
sional studies were pursued A\ith his father, and he was 
admitted to the bar in 1802. It is not certain whether he 
first began the practice of his profession at Haverhill or 
Strafford, \"t., but in 1807 we find him located at Littleton, 
the pioneer lawyer of that town. He remained five year.s and 
then moved to Franconia. For a few years he lived in 
Thornton, and was postmaster in that place, but retin-ned to 
Franconia in 1847, and died there in 18")7. After leaving 
Littleton he engaged in teaching, and faithfully discharged 
the duties incident to the office of a magistrate. It is 
said when he was examined for admission to the bar the 
only question asked him was, " AYhat is the best title a 
person can have in real estate?" "I don't know." Like 



2 GO HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

his brother he was noted more for negative than for positi^ e 
quaUties. He was gentle and nnassuming in manners, and 
was averse to the turmoil and strife of business. He had 
little standing in his profession, and practically abandoned it 
•after leaving Littleton. 

Mr. Dow married twice. His first wife was a woman of 
high character and social standing, the daughter of Hon. 
Jonathan Arnold of liliode Island, at one time a member of 
the Continental Congress. Her father dying when she was 
quite young, she was received into the family of Charles 
Marsh of Woodstock, Vt., and thus became the adopted 
sister of the late Hon. George P. Marsh, the eminent 
scholar and diplomatist. One of their children was the late 
Moses A. Dow of Boston, founder of Dow Academy in 
Franconia. 

Mr. Dow married for his second wife Xancy Bagley of 
Thornton, who on one occasion, the story goes, when ]Mr. 
Dow was harrassed by the sherift', stood her ground and 
made it too warm for the bailiff, introducing him to a sudden 
baptism of hot water. 

JOHN NELSON 

AVas one of the most prominent citizens of Haverhill dur- 
ing the early part of this century, and was a leading member 
of the Grafton county bar. He was born in Exeter, 
in 177S, but his parents moved when he was still a child 
to Gilmanton. As a boy he early displayed talent 
and was sent to Dartmouth College, graduating in 1830. 
Daniel Webster was in college at the same time with him. 
He read law with Charles Marsh of Woodstock, Vt., and 
later in Boston, Mass., and then settled in Haverhill. 

He married twice, first, Susannah Brewster, daughter of 
Gen. Ebenezer Brewster of Hanover, and second Lois Burn- 
ham Leverett, daughter of John Leverett of AVindsor, Vt. 
The Leverett family came from England in 1G33, and was 



LAWYERS. 2()1 

a leadinG* one in Boston, Mass., "•ivino; to the colonv a i>;ov- 
ernor and to the yonng college at Cambridge, a president. 
Mrs. Xelson Avas a woman of" superior intellect, and of iiiiii- 
siial literary taste and culture. Of their large family, the 
eldest daughter, Mary Sewell, a woman of brilliant mind, 
married Ira Perley of Concord, one of the most distin- 
guished lawyers of New Hampshire and Chief Justice of 
the Supreme Court. 

Susan Brewster became the wife of AVilliam C. Thomp- 
son of Plymouth ; Martha and Frances, were the first and 
second wives of William IJ. Hooper of Worcester, ^Nlass. ; 
Lois Leverett married David Dickey of Haverhill ; Sarah 
married Samuel H. Goodall of Portsmouth, son of Ira 
Goodall of Bath, and her sister Elizabeth became the second 
wife of Mr. Goodall ; Anna Roby married William B. Fox, 
and afterward George T. Kice, both of Worcester, Mass. ; 
Thomas Leverett, (see Chap. XIX) ; Ebenezer Brewster 
died in Texas, and AVilliam is living in St. Louis, Mo. 

Mr. Xelson was an able lawyer and ranked high at the 
Grafton county l)ar, but his voice was rather feeble, and he 
did not possess the j)hysical power of Mr. Iiell. He was 
associated with Hon. Kichard Fletcher in the famous Dow- 
Bell breach of promise case. He was a man of j)ure charac- 
ter, most highly esteemed in the community, and of amiable 
(lis[)osition. Both he and Mrs. Xelson were strongly anti- 
slavery in their sentiments, and felt a lively interest in homo 
and foreign politics. He was a man of few words, walked 
with measured step, so that he gained the title of "Ad- 
miral," wore the old-time blue coat with brass buttons, and 
was tall and well-built. 

IIENi;V m TCHINSOX 

Was born in Lebanon in ITM'), and Avas the son of Aaron 
Hutchinson, a pioneer lawyer of Grafton county. Gi-aduat- 
ing from Dartmouth College in liS()4, he read law in the 



262 HISTOHY OF HAVEKHILL. 

office of his ththor, and was admitted to tlie bar in LsoT. 
He probably began the })ractice of his profession in Lel^anon 
with his fatlier, and in liSlO he went to Haverhill, remain- 
ing there till LSI"), when he moved to Hanover, where he 
continued till 182,"), and then settled in New York. He 
married a daughter of Judge Bezaleel AN'oodward of Hano- 
ver. Mr. Hutchinson died in 183<S. 

DA AID 8L()AX. 

Mr. Sloan was born in Pelham, Mass., in 1780, and 
graduated from Dartmouth College in 18()(). He worked 
his way through college, and earned some money by writing- 
diplomas. His professional studies were pursued with Judge 
V\\ H. AVoodward of Hanover, and George AVoodward of 
Haverhill, and he began the practice of his profession at the 
latter place, continuing to do so to the time of his death in 
18()(). He did a large business, and is said to have been an 
astute lawyer and a shrewd and practical business man. 
He acquired considerable property and was prudent in the 
care of it. In personal appearance he was somewhat indif- 
ferent, and was also quite eccentric in manners. 

Mr. Sloan married Hannah, daughter of Capt. Thomas 
Johnson of Xewbury, At., and two of his sons Avere edu- 
cated at Dartmouth College, but died early in life. Miss 
Lizzie Sloan, a daughter of David Sloan, is the only repre- 
sentative of the family in Haverhill. Scott Sloan, P^sq., of 
Wells Iviver. At., is a grandson. 

JOSEPH EELL 

Was without doubt Ha-s erhill's most distinguished lawyer. 
He was born in Jk'dford in 1787, the son of Joseph and 
Mary (Houston) Bell, and was of Scotch origin. He re- 
ceived his academic education at Dartmouth College, and 
graduated from that institution in 1807. For a year aftei- 
g:raduating he was princi[)al of Haverhill Academy, and 



LAWVE1J8. '2i')'^ 

then j)iu>;uc'(l lii.s law studies with lion. Samuel liell of 
Amherst, Hon. Samuel Dana of" Boston, and Judge Jeremiah 
Smith of Exeter. He was admitted to the har and began 
the praetiee of his profession at Haverhill in 1811, and eon- 
tinned there till 1^42, when he moved to Boston and entered 
in partnershi[» A\ith the late Henry L. Durant. In his earlii'r 
professional career he was cashier of (xrafton Bank, and in 
later years he became its president. During his residence in 
Ha\'erhill he held \arious public positions, was solicitor for 
(irafton countv, and also represented the Town for a num- 
ber of years in the legislature, and ran for Congress in is;},'). 
After his remo\al to Boston he was a member of the legisla- 
ture of Massa("husetts in l)()th branches, ami at one time lie 
was })resident of the Senate. 

Mr. Bell began his ])rofessional life in stiaightened circum- 
stances, but by great industry, frugality, and careful invest- 
ment he amassed a large property. In tliis it is said he was 
aided by being the adn)inistrator of Col. Asa Porter's estate, 
who owned large tracts of land in To[)sham and Corinth. Vt. 
These lands were sold in 1)ulk and wei'C bought up l)y a 
syndicate and afterwards sold out in small lots. The ti'adi- 
tion is still handed down that those who were in it made 
" large money." 

He was a close and industrious student, and early won a 
front place at the Grafton county bar, where for a long time 
he was its admitted leader. Practice became very extensi\e 
and hicratiM'. and reached into the neighboring counties. 
.Vt forty years of age he had gained the full mastery of his 
powers and as the leader of the Graftt)n county bar, he had 
to defend this position against such able men in the profes- 
sion as George Sullivan, Ezekiel Webster, Icabod Bartlett. 
Joel Parker, Levi \\'oodi)urv and Chief Justice Jeremiah 
Smith. These contests drew forth all the powers of his 
mind and his skill and leai-ning as a lawyer. He was distin- 
guisluMl for the deliberate preparation of his cases and did 



2<)4 



HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 



ni)t triLst to Others. In his knowledge of pleadings he was 
very particular, and did not allow his o|)ponents to escape 
the consequences of their mistakes or negligence. His great 
ability and learning in the law did not appear so conspicu- 
ously on great occasions as on questions that came up inci- 
dentally in the trial of causes. His analysis of facts was 
keen and exhaustive, and he ]iossessed a wonderfully exact 
legal language. He was always a master of legal principles, 
and could cite with great promptness the authorities and 
cases that were pertinent to questions at issue. In argu- 
ment he was generally brief, and saw at a glance the strong 
and salient })oints in an issue, and seized and dwelt upon 
these in presenting his case to the jury or to the court. His 
examination of witnesses was very direct, and he rarely dis- 
credited a witness. He was not diffuse and miscellaneous in 
his knowledge of law, Init thorough and exact, and there 
was little dis[)lay of his legal acquirements. He was always 
promjit and orderly, all |)apei's were at hand and carefully 
marked, and when called for they could l)e furnished at once. 
The details of a case were carefully looked after, and nothing 
was left at loose ends. With clients and associate counsel 
he was patient and deferential, and listened attentively to all 
they had to say. Hon. Nathaniel A\ ilson of Orono, Me., 
who for a short time was in Mr. Belfs office sums up his 
standing as a lawyer : "Asa lawyer he was clear-headed, 
keen, discriminating, logical and thoroughly read. His in- 
fluence with the court and with the jury was very marked, 
and his services were always in demand." 

In manner ^Nlr. Bell w'as somewhat severe and over-bear- 
ing. In the examination of witnesses and in his address to 
the jury he spoke in loud tones which was due, it is said, to 
his extreme diffidence, and by a singular mental constitution 
he seemed to gain confidence as his voice rose. He was less 
successful before the jury, however, than befoi-e the court. 
This was owing in part to the shock he gave the jury by his 



I,A^\ vi:i;s. 265 

impcnous nuiniu'i' and t'orcctul 8[)eeeli. He wa.s not distin- 
guished for his persuasiveness Avith a jury, gently iind kindly 
leading them along over the difheulties of the ease, but his 
manner Avas such as rather to drive the jury before him by 
main force. As a consequence he was stronger as a lawyer 
than as an advocate. He was more learned than Moses 
Dow, though less brilliant than Alden Sj)raguc. With his 
brethren he was always honorable and high-minded, and was 
far removed from low tricks either to gain or to hold clients. 
]Mr. Bell was a very exacting man and held everybody to 
the strictest account. He once discharged his butter-man 
who had agreed to furnish him butter for twelve and a half 
cents a pound, but in looking over the bill he discovered that 
the man had carried out one pound at thirteen cents. He 
said nothing, l)ut inf )rmed the man that he need not bring 
any more l)utter, without, however, explaining to him the 
reason. This was his method of treating all persons who 
presented l)ills to him. He })romptly paid their face, but 
woe to the person ever after if he detected the slightest error 
in their accounts. Once in a while he got treated to his own 
medicine to the great delight of those who knew his exacting 
ways. He was accustomed when he took gilt-edged paper 
to file these away and let the interest do its work, whilst he 
attended more closely to less reliable obligations. It so 
happened that he held a man's note in Kumney for a large 
sum, and regarding the ])aper {)erfectly good, as was the fact, 
he overlooked the date of its out-law. Kunning over his 
jtajiers one day he discovered that this note had ])assed the 
limitation of statute. He got his brother-in-law Thom])Son 
to go and see the man, and try if he could not ih some way 
get him to acknowledge the note. lint the debtor was an 
adroit person, knowing full well that if he was in Bell's 
hands no mercy would be shown him, and after Thompson 
had felt his pecuniary pulse, he coolly remarked, " Mr. 
Thompson, if I owe Mr. I'ell anything," putting special 



266 HISTORY OF HAAEUHILL. 

ein])hat5is on tlic word owe, " I am alnindiintly able to pay 
him." As the money-king of the phice most [)ersons feared 
Mr. Bell, though many were compelled to seek his aid. He 
always did as he agreed, but he was sure to make a close 
agreement in the start. 

Mr. Bell carried his imperious manner somewhat into 
social life, but with intimate friends he is said to have been 
a most agreeable and companionable person. xVltliough he 
rose from humble circumstances he was a natural-born aristo- 
crat. He was much alone, and rarely spent any time in the 
same I'ooni with his students of whom he usually had two or 
more in his office, yet he was always ready to impart any 
information which was sought l)y them, and was much grati- 
fied to aid them in their studies. His office was his throne 
of empire. He was accustomed to walk to church alone, 
apart from his family, with his hands folded under his coat 
tails, and gave the impression of a proud and aristocratic 
man . 

Speaking of Mr. Bell being a pi-oud man the following 
incident is told of him : As he advanced in years his eyes 
began to fail him, but he j)ersistently resisted the decline of 
his sight. So on one occasion in court he undertook to read 
a paper which was written in rather small style, and he had 
to hold it out at arm's length. His keen opponent knowing 
his ])ride in resisting glasses, said to him : " Brother Bell, 
you'll either have to get glasses or a pair of tongs." 

Mr. Bell was finely connected by marriage, having for his 
wife a very accom})lished woman, a daughter of one of the 
first families of the times — Mills Olcott's of Hanover. This, 
however, ImAight him into serious trouble, and he was com- 
pelled to defend himself in court on a charge of breach of 
promise, which was brought by Miss Dow, daughter of Gen. 
Moses Dow. The case was tried twice, in the first trial the 
jury disagreeing, but in the second the jury gave a verdict in 
his favor. 



LAWYERS. 2G7 

After Mr. BelTy unirriage he concliuled to iii;ikc Haverhill 
his life-home, but a.s years of pros])erity rolled on and his 
means began to aceunuilate, a new pressure fired his heart. 
lie became and)itious of political pi-eferment, in which it is 
said his wife shared his feelings, and that it was largely due 
to her urgency that he finally broke up and went to Boston, 
where the political soil was more favorable to his aspirations 
than in iron-clad Democratic New Hampshire. 

Mr. Bell fought his way up over all obstacles to wealth 
and distinction. He was a high-})riced lawyer for those 
days, but he is said to have l)een entirely honorable in his 
professional conduct. He had just Aiews of the grounds and 
elements which are necessary in order to give professional 
success. To his son he said : "Your standing at the bar 
depends entirely upon your industry, assiduity, and diligence 
in your profession." 

Mr. Bel] had a family of five children, only one of whom 
is now living, Mrs. Dr. U])ham of Keene. His son, Jose])h 
]Mills, was a graduate of Dartmouth College in 1844, and 
read law with his father. He was a partner with Kufus 
Choate whose daughter he married. During the Rebellion 
he served on the staff of Gen. Butler at New Orleans, and 
was afterwai'ds appointed judge of the Recorder's Coui-t in 
that city. He is said to have been a man of fine ability and 
lar^e lej^al culture. 

Mr. Bell came near losing his life from an attack of lock- 
jaw which was caused by ste])ping on a nail when the Acad- 
emy building was burned, and he continued in feel)le health 
for some years after. He received the highest honors of his 
Alma Mater, the degree of ll.d. in 1887. He died sud- 
denly at Saratoga, in 1851, of heart disease which had pur- 
sued him for some years. Once whilst in Europe he suffered 
so se\ere an attack as greatly to alarm him. In ])hysi(|ue 
Air. Bell was rather lai'ge and strongly built, of command- 



26S 



HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 



ing presence, with over-hanging eye-brows beneath a well 
formed and intellectual head. 



SAMUEL CARTLAXD 

Was a law^'cr in Haverhill from 188.") to 1<S88, and came to 
Haverhill from Lee, where he was born in 17*J7, and where 
he also received his earlier education. He graduated from 
Dartmouth College in 181(i. He was })rominent in political 
life, being a state senator in 1829—80—31 from the old 
Twelfth district, and was president of the senate the first 
and last vear of his senatorial service. He was also actino- 
•iovcrnor in 1881 for two davs, the governor havins; resio-ned, 
the president of senate became acting governor until a 
successor could be inauiiurated, and Mr. Cartland beinir 
president of the senate for that year, the honor of the 
governorship fell to him for the short period named. He 
was also judge of probate. He stood high as a lawyer, and 
was a man of ability and character. Socially he was genial 
and attractive, of accom[)lished and gentlemanly manners, 
and most kindly feelings. His force and energy were not 
as conspicuous as his intellectual ability, but his ambition 
was large and was never fully satisfied. He is said to have 
aspired to a seat in Congress, and failing in that he went 
South for a time and afterwards to Maine, where he died at 
the age of forty-three. Tn physi(|ue he was of average build. 

EDMUND CAIiLETOX 

Was the son of Dr. Ednunid Carleton of Haverhill, a l)hy- 
sician in his day of wide note, and was born in 171)7. He 
received his early education at Haverhill Academy, and 
graduated from Dartmouth College in 1S22. After grad- 
uating he taught in A irginia, and also read law with William 
Garnett of Tappahannock. Returning to Haverhill he fin- 
ished his law" studies with Jose[)h Bell, and was admitted to 
the l)ar in 1828. He began the jiractice of his profession at 



LAWYERS. 21)9 

Haverhill, and later t>ettled in Littleton. As a lawyer he 
was averse to controversy, and preferred peaceful settlements 
of difficulties. He was well e(|uipped for his profession, but 
ill health compelled him to abandon the law, and he engaged 
in active business. He was noted for his stronjr abolition 
sentiments, and was a man of strict conscientiousness. He 
married in 1836 Mary Kilburn Coffin, and their son Edmund 
is now living in Littleton. 

HALE A. JOIIXSTOX 

Was a grandson of Col. Charles Johnston, and was born in 
Haverhill in 1801. His pai*ents were Capt. ]\Iichael and 
Sarah (Atkinson) Johnston. He was educated at Haverliill 
Academy and at Dartmouth College, graduating from the 
latter institution in 1825. After leavino- colleo-e he taught 
for a while in an academy at Xorthumbcrland, Pa., and 
then read law for a time with Joseph ^NIcKeen of Xew York, 
and finished with Joseph Bell, He was admitted to the l)ar 
in 1829 at Haverhill, and began the practice of Ins profes- 
sion there, but his career as a lawyer was brief, and he died 
of consumption in 1831. He is said to have been a man of 
hopeful professional prospects, and of a trained intellect. 

p:i)Waki) k. olcott. 
Edward R. Olcott was the son of Mills Olcott of Han- 
over, and Avas born in 1805. He was a graduate of Dart- 
mouth College in 1825, and pursued his professional studies 
with Joseph Bell. After his admission to the bar he began 
the practice of the law in Hanover in 1828, continuing there 
for a few years, and then moved to Haverhill in 1830. Sub- 
sequently he went South to Louisiana, and attained, it is 
said, to the position of a judge of that state. He died in 
1869. 

DAM EL I'.LAISDELL, 

Daniel Blaisdell was born in Pittsfield in Lsod, and was 



270 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

the son of Hon. Elijah B. and Xancy (Fogg) Bhiisdell. 
His academic education was pursued at Kimball Union 
Academy and at Dartmouth College, and he was graduated 
from the latter institution in 1827. His law studies were 
})ursued in the office of Joseph Bell, and he was admitted to 
the bar in 1S30. For a few years he practiced his profession 
with John Xelson of Haverhill, but afterwards, in 1882, he 
moved to Lebanon. He became treasurer of Dartmouth 
College in 1835, and held that ])osition till the time of his 
death. Meantime he continued in the practice of his profes- 
sion, and was a constant attendant at court till near the close 
of his life. 

Mr. Blaisdell was frequently called to places of trust and 
honor. He represented the town of Hanover in the legisla- 
ture in 1839-40—41, and again in 18()5-(3, and was a state 
senator in 18(i3— 4. He was also a })residential elector in 
18 GO on the Republican ticket. In religious sentiment he was 
a disciple of Dr. Channing and a man of exemplary habits 
and high character. He was conservative and cautious in 
action, and deliberate and exact in speech. His manners 
were courteous and refined, and he was a gentleman of the 
old school. As a lawyer he Avas painstaking and well read, 
and judicious as a counsellor. In personal appearance he 
was dignified and attractive, of full medium mould, neat in 
his dress, with heavy eye-brows and firm mouth, and his 
general look was that of a scholarly and cultured man. 
He married Charlotte Osgood of Haverhill, and died in 
1875. A son of Mr. Blaisdell is constructing engineer iu 
the navy yard at Brooklyn, and a daughter married Prof. 
Ruo-o-les of Dartmouth College. 

JONATHAN BLI88. 

Jonathan Bliss was born in Randolph, Vt., in 1799. His 
parents were Jonathan and ]\Iaria (^Martin) Bliss, and he 
graduated from Dartmouth Colleo-e in 1824. His law studies 



LA"\VVEKS. 271 

were pursued in the office of Joseph Bell, W. C. Thompson 
of" Plymouth, and at Xorthampton, ]VIass., and he began the 
practice of his profession at Plymouth in 1828. In 1H82 he 
moved to Haverhill, and continued his profession there till 
181)6, when he Avent to Gainsville, Ala., where he practiced 
law to the close of his life in 1879. ]Mr. Bliss was success- 
fid as a lawyer, and at one time had accunudated a large 
property, nnich of which was swept away by the Rebellion. 
He was a man of business affairs, and a successful ad\()cate. 
At the beginning of the war he was a Union man, but 
yielded to the sentiment around him. In })hysique he was 
large and well-built,- somewhat striking in looks and of com- 
manding presence. He married for his first wife Lucretia, 
daughter of William Leverett of Windsor, Vt., for his sec- 
ond, Mary, daughter of Dr. Samuel Kidder of Charlestown, 
]Mass., and for his third, Maria Kidder of Medfield, ]N[ass. 

WILLIAM II. Dl'XCAN. 

This gifted person was born in Candia, then apart of Lon- 
donderry, in 1807, and was an only child. His father, 
William D., and liis mother whose maiden name was Mary 
McMm'j)hy, Avere both Scotch Iiish. His early years were 
passed in his father's store, for which, however, he had little 
taste and soon after he entered Pinkerton Academy, Derry, 
to fit for college. He graduated from Dartmouth in 1830, 
being amongst the more mature members of his class, and 
having for his commencement part the valedictory. Three 
years later he gave the master's oration. 

Mr. Duncan's fascinating manners and brilliant talents 
made him a favorite with the young ladies of Hanover, one 
of whose most beautiful and accomplished belles, Sarah 
Olcott, daughter of Mills Olcott, a distinguished citizen and 
lawyer of that place, he afterwards married. Two of ]Mr. 
Olcott's daughters were already married, one toRufus Choate 
and another to Joseph Bell, and he was tluis l)rought into 



272 HISTORY OF HAVEUHILL. 

intimate acquaintanceship with some of the leading men of 
the times. When he was a senior in college he visited Mr. 
Choate in Salem, Mass., and heard Mr. Webster's argument 
in the famous Knapp murder case. 

After leaving college Mr. Duncan went South and en- 
o-a<ied in teachinfj school for some vears. Meantime he 
studied law, and was admitted to the bar in Charleston, S. C. 
He returned to New IIani})shire in 1834 and was married to 
Sarah Olcott, and began the practice of the law at Havei'hill, 
but in a few years, on account of Mr. Olcott's failing health, 
he returned to Hanover to assist his father-in-law in his mul- 
tiplied business. The large practice which he soon acquired 
was interrupted by the health of his wife, which made it 
necessary for him to pass the winters in the South, and this 
professional interruption was greatly aggravated by the set- 
tlement of Mr. Olcott's large estate as well as that of Mrs. 
Olcott, the former dying in 1845, the latter in 1848. Mrs. 
Duncan died in 1850, which greatly broke him up, and in a 
measure he withdrew from very active participation either in 
professional business or in general matters. He led mean- 
time a quiet and lonely life in Hanover for thirty years, 
having rooms and an office in a business block and boarding 
at the hotel. 

But he was a landmark after all. Commencement day at 
Dartmouth College saw him in lively and pleasant chat with 
the returnino; ijraduates who knew him in years gfone bv. 
His life may be said to have been a failure for two rea- 
sons. First, he was two sensative and retiring for the 
rough-and-tmnblc work and competition of the world, and 
second, the circumstances of his life diverted him from the 
earnest and imtiinching pursuit of his profession, in which 
without doubt his unquestioned ability would have })laced 
him amongst the foremost lawyers of the state, especially as 
an accomplished and masterful advocate. He was a natural- 
l)orn orator. Had he entered the walks of politics, which 



LAWYEltS. 273 

however were distasteful to his refined and sensitive nature, 
he would doubtless have risen to the highest positions of 
honor and trust. At one time he was prominently thought 
of as a candidate for governor, but the matter received no 
encouragement from liim. 

At another time he was put forward as a tentative candi- 
date for the United States senatorship, and it Avas arranged 
for him to speak at some of the more important points in the 
state on public issues. This was in incipient " Know-Noth- 
ing" time, and his political opponents were very anxious to 
get hold of his first speech, so as to anticipate his appearance 
in other parts of the state. The opening speech was at 
Hanover, his home, and a young man, a member of Dart- 
mouth College, was engaged to take down the speech in 
short-hand. So when the time came, the short-hand writer 
was promptly in his place near the platform, but Mr. Duncan 
having been apprised of what his political opponents were 
attempting, in order to thwart their designs, spoke against 
time in a rambling Avay upon all sorts of subjects, interlard- 
ino; his remarks witli numerous anecdotes and laug-hable inci- 
cidents, in the hope of wearing out the reporter. That 
gentleman, however, was instructed to take down the speech 
verbatim et literatim, and whatever dropped from the lips of 
the speaker was regarded as " grist " for the reporter's 'dio})- 
per," and so down went incident and anecdote, sense and 
nonsense, sober and light, and page after page were thrown 
off, till at last, after telling a very absurd and most ludicrous 
story which of course the short-hand man took down, Mr. 
Duncan turned to liim and with indescribable dramatic ex- 
pression and painfulness of countenance, showing his fine 
sense of the fitness of things, — "For God's sake, ]\Ir. 
Reporter, don't put that down ! " 

Mr. Duncan was a gentleman of the old school, graceful 
and elegant in manners, true in his friendships, of a gentle 
and winning spirit, one of the most charming social persons 



274 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

to be met with, and as a conversationalist could grace any 
presence. In politics a conservative Democrat, in religion a 
most devout Episcopalian. He died in 1883 and was buried 
at Hanover. 

SAMUEL C. WEBSTER. 

Samuel C. Webster was the son of David Webster of 
Plymouth, and was born there about 1787. He graduated 
from Dartmouth College in 1808, and read law with George 
Woodward. After his admission to the bar he began the 
practice of his profession in 1812 at Plymouth, where he 
spent the chief part of his professional life, except the short 
time he lived in Haverhill, wlien he was high sheriff. There 
is some doubt in regard to his practicing law at Haverhill. 
He was speaker of the house of representatives of New 
Hampshire in 1830, and was a man of ability and influence. 
He married Catharine, daughter of Moor Russell, and died 
in Haverhill in 1835. 

NATHAN B. FELTON. 

Nathan B. Felton was born in Pelham, Mass., now Pres- 
cott, in 17U8. Of his early years nothing is known until he 
began to fit for college at Chester, Vt., where he remained 
about a year and a half, and then entered the junior year at 
Middlebury College, Vt. After graduation he immediately 
entered the office of Gen. Charles W. Field of Newfime, Vt., 
and was admitted to the bar at that place in 1824. In the 
same year he began the practice of his profession at Leb- 
anon, where he remained about ten years, holding in the 
meantime the position of postmaster under President Jack- 
son. Mr. Felton came to Haverhill in 1834, and continued 
to live here till the time of his death in 1876, the greater 
part of the time in the full practice of the law. He was 
clerk of the court for ten years, and also held the office of 
register of probate. He served the Town for some time as 



LAAVYEKS. 275 

town clerk, and was also a representative to the Icgislatiu'c 
for several years. 

]Mr. Felton was slightly below medium stature and of 
slender frame, with l)ushy head and shaggy eye-brows, firm 
mouth and thoughtful face. Intellectually he was am})ly 
endowed, with large capacity of acquisition. He fitted for 
the junior class in college in eighteen months from the time 
he began to study Latin and Greek, an extraordinary feat 
even in those days when the requirements were not so exact- 
ing as they are now for entering college. He was fond of 
his books, and took great pleasure in following out in^-estiga- 
tions to the end, as far as his means of knowledge would 
allow. This habit made him a thorough lawyer, whose opin- 
ion was desirable and trustworthy for such as wished to know^ 
the law in a given matter. One who knew him well, and is 
eminently qualified to judge in the matter, pays this high 
tribute to his legal standing and acquirements, "Mr. Felton 
Avas a careful, painstaking and learned laAvyer." The late 
William H. Duncan once remarked to me that Chief Justice 
Perley said to him that in knowledge of court procedure, 
Mr. Felton had no superior in the state, and that he himself 
on several occasions while holding court, had called in ]Mr. 
Felton's aid in reference to such matters. Plis mind was 
eminently judicial. 

]Mr. Felton Avas a man of marked integrity, in whose 
trustw^orthiness the entire community had the fullest confi- 
dence, and his death was sincerely mourned by all who knew 
him. He Avas a man of fcAV Avords, but always Avcighed well 
Avhat he said, quiet in his manners and of a subtle humor, 
and is said rarely to have carried to his home the cares and 
per])lexities of his professional Avork. He Avas a man of 
great kindness of heart, and Avas a genuine friend of the 
poor and dependent, and the services Avhich he rendered this 
class of the community Avas no inconsiderable item in his long 
professional career. He Avas far above the average of even 



276 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

educated persons in intellig'cnce, and had always within reach 
both at his office and at his home a standard encyclopedia. 
He lived a plain and unostentatious life, and was one of the 
most esteemed members of the l)ar and of the community. 
Mr. Felton married Ann jVI. Keding, sister of Hon. John 
R. Reding and of the late Silvester Reding. 

DAVID DICKY. 

David Dicky came to Haverhill from Epsom about 1838-9, 
but he did not remain there many years. He was born in 
1806, and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1835, 
rather late in life. He is said to have beeji a man of good 
ability, but lacked ambition and pur})Ose in his profession, 
and was rather given to money-making. He married a 
daughter of John Nelson of Haverhill. 

DAVID H. COLLINS. 

David H. Collins was a lawyer in Haverhill from 1839 to 
1843. He was born in Deerfield in 1812, and received his 
collegiate education at Dartmouth College, graduating from 
that institution in 1835. He held the office of register of 
probate for several years, and Avhilst in that position did ex- 
cellent service in arranging the papers and making an index, 
so that the Grafton county office was one of the best ordered 
in the state. He was a man of nuich literary taste, and 
possessed a fund of wit and humor. He stood high in college 
as a scholar, and gave considerable attention to the study of 
literature and political science in his. short life. His letters, 
it is said, show a fresh, keen and observing mind, and his 
style is pure and polished. He was esteemed by those who 
knew liim best as a man of fine intellectual ability, even 
brilliant, and was considered one of the most jn-omising 
vounof men in the state. In manners he was gentlemanlv 
and refined, tending to a trifle of singularity, and was re- 
garded as a little reserved by casual acquaintances, but with 
his intimate friends he was always the center of interest and 



I 



LAAVYEUS. 277 

sociability. In person he was tall and slender, with strong^ 
featnres, and Avithal a man of most worthy character. 
Owing to poor health he went from Haverhill to his native 
[)lace, and died there of consumption at the age of thirty- 
one. He was an Episcopalian in religion, and left the larger 
part of his property to religious purposes. The last winter 
of his life he spent in the South. 

JONAS DAKIUS SLEEPER. 

Jonas Darius Sleeper, son of Jonas and Sally (Bean) 
Sleeper, Avas born in Gilford in 1814, and came to Haverhill 
in IS-IS. In that year he was appointed clerk of the court 
for Grafton county, and held that position till 1860, Avhen 
he accepted the cashiership of the State Capital Bank of 
Concord. This last trust he held only one year, and was 
then appointed clerk of the court for Merrimack county, the 
duties of which he continued to perform to the close of his 
life. He was a director in the State Capital Bank from 18(51 
to 1865, and continued such after the bank was changed to the 
National State (J'a[)ital Bank. 

]\Ir. Sleeper was a thoroughly trained man, and received 
his academic education at Gilmanton Academy and at New 
Hampton, and afterwards graduated from Brown's Univesity, 
R. I., in 1836. After leaving college he entered the office 
of Hon Josiah (^uincy of Rumney, wdiere he remained three 
vears pursuing his professional studies, and was admitted to 
the l)ar in 1843. Soon after he began the practice of his 
profession at Hill, and remained there about six years. 

Mr. Slee[)cr was elected a state senator for Grafton county 
for two terms, and was a man of utmost integrity and unim- 
peachable character. His abilities by nature and l)y training 
were of a high order, and in the discharge of the various 
duties, which important positions placed upon him, he was 
scru[)ulously faithful and trustworthy. He is descrilx'd by 
one who knew him well, "as a gentleman in his dejiortment 



278 HISTOKY OF HAVERHILL. 

at all times, an honest man, one of the best of citizens, a 
very able, faithful and popular clerk of the court, and a 
friend to everybody and everybody a friend to him." 

Mr. Sleeper was a singularly social man and a very genial 
companion. His life was most exemplary, and his habits 
were ah\'ays correct. He was a man of generous impulses 
and actions, and was cordially helpful in a quiet and unob- 
trusive way in all deserving endeavors. In 1845 he married 
Martha Grace, daughter of Hon. Josiah Quincy, and died in 
Plymouth whilst engaged in a referee case in 1858. 

JOHX 8. BRYANT. 

Mr. Bryant was born in Meredith in 1800, and after leav- 
ing his native place he lived in Bristol till 1839, and then 
moved to Haverhill. He was deputy sheriff for Grafton 
county for a number of years, and pursued also the business 
of a surveyor of lands. During these years he devoted his 
leisure hours to the study of Latin and the law, and was 
admitted to the bar at Haverhill in 1846, where he practiced 
till his death in 1873. Mr. Bryant was a self-made man. 
and from the time he was thirteen years old he took care of 
himself. He was full of energy, industry and perseverance, 
and enjoyed a good practice. In his early life he was inter- 
ested in military matters, and was a captain of volunteers. 
He was a man of agreeable and cheerful manners, and was 
fond of conversation. Knowing the thorny path of those 
who rely upon themselves for an education, he was kind and 
helpful in aiding many during his lifetime in this direction. 
He was a constant attendant at church. 

Mr. Bryant married Hannah P. Edwards, and had a 
family of three children. The son, George Franklin, died 
whilst a member of Dartmouth College, Ann became oNIrs. 
Gardiner Elliott, and lived for many years in the South, and 
Louisa married Hon. George AV. Burleigh of Great Falls. 
Mrs. Elliott has a son, Georije Frank, an officer in the 





AZA-i-fi^ 




^r^^sf- 



LAWYERS. 279 

United States navy, who was in the expedition in search of 
the Long exploration paity which was lost some years ago 
in the Arctic regions. 

DAVID PAGE. 

Mr. Page was born in Haverhill, Mass. in 1<S(II), and 
came to Haverhill in early life. He was educated at the 
common schools and at the Academy, and read law witli 
James W. Wood of Burlington, Iowa. He was admitted 
to the bar at Haverhill in 1844, and began the practice of 
law there. Previous to his study of the law he was engaged 
in teaching in Groton, Orford and Haverhill. At one time 
he was clerk in a store at Groton, and also enf>:ao:ed in busi- 
ness in Haverhill, aside from his profession. He was a 
justice of the peace, moderator of a town meeting in Groton, 
selectman of Benton, auditor for Haverhill a number of 
years and was captain of militia. In all these places he was 
faithful and competent. He was a member of the Congre- 
gational church. 

He married Margaret Taylor (jf Derry, and they had four 
children. The oldest son died in infancy, Samuel T. (see 
infra), one of the daughters married Hon. Alvin Burleigh, a 
prominent member of the Grafton county bar and speaker of 
the house of representatives in 1887, and the youngest 
daughter, Martha, died soon after her marriage to Mr. 
AVhitney of Keene. 

Mr. Page was a kind hearted and peaceful citizen, unam- 
bitiously })ursuing his profession, of gentle muincrs and 
slender in person. 

CIIAULES E. THOMPSOX. 

jNIr. Thom[»son was born in 1802, was a graduate of Dart- 
mouth College in the class of 1828. He practised law in 
Haverhill till 185.'), and then went to Chicago. He married 
Mary Olcott oi' Hanover. He was a man of ability, suave 
in manners, and a favorite in societv. Xothini; stood be- 



280 



HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 



tween him and professional success except enslavement to 
appetite. He died in Xew Jersey in 1882, at the home of a 
daughter. Mrs. Thompson is still living, a charming old 
ladv in Washington. 

GEORGE AV. CIIAPMAX 

Came to Haverhill in 1858 from Hill, where he had been 
engaged in the practice of his })rofession for several years. 
His academic education was pursued in Cleveland, Ohio, and 
at Xorthfield and Hill Academy, and he read law for a time 
Avith J. 1). Sleeper of Hill, and also with Xesmith and Pike 
of Franklin, and was admitted to the Ijar at Plymouth in 
1849. A large practice has rewarded his professional life, 
and he is one of the older and more prominent lawyers at 
the (Irafton county l^ar. He has been Town superintendent 
of school, a member of the board of trustees of Haverhill 
Academy, and is now president of the board. He is also 
president of the Bi'adford Savings Bank, Vt. He is a man 
of generous impulses, and of most cordial and hospitable 
dis})osition, is fond of social life, and abounds in story and 
anecdote, especially of the bar and court. ]\Ir. Chapman 
has been successful in the accunudation of an am})le fortune, 
and now lives in ease and somewhat retired from hard pro- 
fessional duty. He married P^leanor Towle of Haverhill. 

CHARLES R. .MORRISON. 

Judge ^Morrison was of Scotch origin, and his ancestors 
were persons (_>f ]>rominence. He was born in l-Sl'J in Bath, 
the son of William and Stiva (Young) ^Morrison. His 
mother was the daughter of Joshua and Abiah (Ladd) 
Yoimg, and a granddaughter of fludge Ezekiel Ladd of 
Haverhill. He received his academic education at Newbury, 
Vt., and pursued the study of the law with Goodall & 
Woods of Bath. He was admitted to the bar in 1842, and 
for a few years practiced his profession in partnership with 
]\Ir. Goodall. In 1845 he moved to Haverhill and continued 





Ery'-hi: S.B.JnaU's Son. 



LAWYERS. 2H1 

ti> practice there till 1S")1, when he was appointed judge of 
the court ot" oonunon pleas, which i)()siti(>n he held tor four 
years, when the coiu'ts were reoriianized. From IS')!! to 
l'S()2 he practised his profession in Nashua, and in Manches- 
ter from 18()4 till he moved to Concord a few years ago. In 
lH(i2 he Avas appointed adjutant of the 11th Regiment, 
\. II. AOl., and served gallantly in the Wai' of the Ke- 
I)eUion till near its close, when he was compelled to leave his 
post on account of a dangerous wound which he received at 
Spottsylvania in the campaign against Kichmond. He was 
also in the battles of Fredericksburg, Vicksbiu-g, fJackson 
and Knoxville. 

Judge Morrison is one of the most learned lawyers in the 
state, with an acute and ci'itical legal mind. He is the 
author of several well-known law books, " Digest of the 
Xew Hamjjshire Reports," " New Hampshire Town Officers." 
He has also given much attention to literatin-e, especially to 
theological studies, and wrote a book " Proofs of Christ's 
Resurrection from a Lawyer's Standpoint," a work which 
has been very highly spoken of by students in that line of 
thought and favorably received by the theological mind. He 
is a man of high character and a most excellent citizen. In 
his religious views he is a Congregationalist. He married 
Susan F. Fitch of Littleton. 

XATIIAXIKL W. WKST(;ATE. 

Judge Westgate was born in Plaintield in 1. SOI, the son 
of a farmer. His early education he received in the common 
schools, and later he attended Kimball's Union Academy, 
from which he graduated in 1820. After graduation he 
taught school during the winter, and his health not admitting 
of his going to college, he entered the office of Hon. Charles 
Flanders' of Plaintield, and was admitted to the bar at Xew- 
))ort in l'S27. He began his })rofessional career at Enfield, 
and remained there till lS'){\. Whilst at Kntield he held the 



282 HISTORY OF HAVEIilllLL. 

office of school superintendent, Avas town clerk, and also 
post-master a term of years. On several occasions he was 
the Repid:)lican candidate for state senator, but owing to the 
strong majority against his party he failed of an election. 
In 1(S56 he was appointed register of probate, and since that 
time he has lived in Haverhill. He held this office for five 
years, and was then appointed judge of probate, a position 
which he filled till he was disqualified by constitutional limit- 
ation. He was also representative from Haverhill in 1861. 
In all these positions of trust and honor Judge Westgate 
was a faithful and trustworthy officer, bringing to his public 
duties a i)atience, fidelity and integrity that made him justly 
esteemed in the community in which he more immediately 
lived, as well as by the larger public which he so long and 
honorably served. Before his appointment to the office of 
register of probate he had built up a successful professional 
business at Enfield, and after coming to Haverhill he con- 
tinued the practice of his profession as far as his official 
duties would admit, till within a few years. He has always 
felt a deep interest in all ])ublic matters, and shared with his 
fellow citizens in all biu'dens for the advancement of society. 
He is a man of much kindness of heart, an excellent neigh- 
bor, a good citizen and enjoys the society of his friends. 

Judge Westgate married for his first wife Lydia J., 
daughter of Dr. Prentiss of Springfield. His second wife 
Louise was the daughter of Hon. Austin Tyler of Claremont. 
Of their children, Tyler was educated at Kimball's Union 
Academy, and has been clerk of the state senate, register of 
probate, postmaster, and is now engaged in mercantile life ; 
William F. (see infra) ; two of the children, Jennie and 
George, are at home, and a son, Nathaniel, was a soldier in 
the War of the Rebellion, and died in prison at Danville, 
Va. 

GEORGE F. PUTNAM. 

George F. Putnam was born in Crovdon in 1841. His 



LAWVEltS. 283 

father's name was John Putnam and liIs mother's Ahnira 
(French) Putnam. He was educated at Thetford Academy, 
and at Norwich University, Vt., and studied hiw in the office 
of the hite X. B. Felton and with Judge C. 11. Morrison of 
Manchester. He was admitted to the bar at the latter place 
in 1867, and began the practice of his profession at Haver- 
hill, but subsequently he moved to Warren and remained 
there seven years. During this time he was solicitor for 
Grafton county in 1874-(i, represented the town in the 
legislature for two years, was a member of the constitutional 
convention in 1876, and was also school committee. When 
Mr. Putnam represented Warren he was the Democratic 
candidate for speaker of the House. He also represented 
Haverliili in the legislature in 1868-1), and was school com- 
mittee of the Town. For several years he served as chair- 
man of the Democratic state connuittee, and was a delegate 
to the Democratic national convention at St. Louis which 
nominated Gov. Tildcn for the presidency. 

In 1877 Mr. Putnam returned to Haverhill and took the 
office of the late ]Mr. Felton, where he continued the prac- 
tice of the law with much success till 1882, when he moved 
to Kansas City, Mo. He at once took a prominent position 
at the bar of that city, and one of his earliest cases there 
was the defence of a man indicted for nuu'der, whose ac- 
(juital he secured. He lias withdrawn from general j)ractice 
before the courts, and now confines himself chiefly to the 
mana":ement of the National Loan and Trust Association of 
Kansas City. His election to tliis large moneyed institution 
shows how deeply he had won the confidence of business 
men in his ability and integrity. 

Mr. Putnam is of medium iieight, somewhat stoutly built, 
quick and energetic in his gait, of a healtliful and Horid com- 
plexion, of superior abilities and well-trained. As an advocate 
he argued causes with fluency and case, was forceful rather 
than elegant, always courteous to his brother lawyers and 



284 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

deferential to tlie court, a genial companion, though hardly 
a society man, as that term goes. He is regarded as an able 
lawyer, of great force of character, full of energy and ca- 
pacity for work, public-si)irited, of exemplary deportment 
and of generous impulses. He is a man of strong convic- 
tions, sometimes these border on the confines of pi-ejudice, of 
a keen sense of justice which is apt to find expression in 
unornamented English, enjoys a good story and is quick to 
see the wit of things. Dartmouth College conferred upon 
him the honorary degree of master of arts in 1870. He 
married ]\Iary, daughter of the late Silvester Reding. 

LUTHER C. 3IORSE 

Was born in Haverhill in 1834, the son of Daniel and L. 
(Colby) Morse. He was educated at Newbury, Vt., and 
at Xew Hampton, and graduated from Dartmouth College in 
18()0. His professional studies were pursued with Oliver A. 
Lull and with Hon. Nathaniel W. Westgate, and he was 
admitted to the bar in 18G3. He began the practice of the 
law at Haverhill, and was in partnership with Judge West- 
o-ate. He was reiiistcr of })r()bate from 18()0 to 1870. 
Pu])lic service and a careless life l)arred his professional ad- 
vance, and in later years he has lived in the West. In his 
account of himself he mentioned as the most important event 
of his life that he " put in a substitute during the war." 
He is a man of humorous and genial nature. 

SAMUEL T. PAGE 

Is tlie son of David and Margaret (Taylor) Page, and was 
born in Haverhill in 1849. Pie was educated at Kimball's. 
Union Academy, and is a graduate of Dartmouth College in 
the class of 1871. He studied law with his fiither, and with 
C^ross & Burnham of ^Manchester, and was admitted to the 
liar at Amherst. Since that time he has practised his profes- 
sion at Haverhill. His professional life has been much in- 



LAAVYEKS. 285 

tciTiipted by official duty. He was private secretary to Goy. 
Weston in 1874, and has held the office of register of pro- 
bate for eight years. In l(S77-8 he represented the Town 
in the legislature, and again in the prolonged session in 1887. 
He spent some months in California as attorney in the in- 
terests of legatees to a large estate. He was also for seyeral 
years superintendent of schools. He married Frances Maria 
Eaton of Manchester, and they haye two children. 

Mr. Page is a gentleman of affable and genial manners, 
and of quick mind. 

SAMUEL 15. PAGE. 

Mr. Page was born in Littleton in 1838, and received his 
education at Kingston and Exeter, at Mclndoes Falls, and 
Lyndon, Vt., and at Union College, N. Y. He read law 
with Woods and Bingham of Bath and at tlie Albany Law 
School, N. Y., and was admitted to the bar in 1861 in Ver- 
mont. He Avas also admitted to practice in the L^nited 
States district and circuit courts in 1869. He began the 
practice of his profession at Wells IJiver, Vt., and afterwards 
for a number of years he continued his practice at Warren 
and Concord. He is now at Woodsville. AVhilst at AVar- 
ren he represented the Town in the legislature from 1863 to 
1869, and also was a representative from Concord in 1874. 
He was a member of the constitutional convention in 1876 
from Haverhill, and represented the Town in the legislature 
in 1887. This was the session of the great railroad contest. 
Mr. Page was the parliamentary leader on one side during 
that controversy, and conducted the fight with marked skill 
and ability. He has also been a trustee of the State Xormal 
School, and school superintendent for Haverhill. He is a 
man of talents and an able lawyer, affable in manners and 
of good presence. He married jNIartha C. Lang of Bath, 
who died recently, and they had four children. In 1868 
Dartmouth College conferred u[)on him the honorary degree 
of master of arts. 



286 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

WILLIAM F. AVESTGATE 

Is the son of Hon. Nathaniel W. and Louisa (Tyler) West- 
gate, and was born in Enfield in 1852. He was educated 
at Haverhill, Meriden and New London Academies, and at 
the Chandler Scientific School of Dartmouth College. He 
read law with his father and with Hon. Geo. F. Putnam, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1880. Since his admission 
he lias practised his profession in Haverhill. He has been 
superintendent of schools and was a representative in 1883. 
In 1884 he was elected register of probate, and re-elected in 
188fi, which position he now holds. He is also a surveyor 
of lands and is en^ajxed in insurance business. Mr. West- 
gate has taken an active interest in politics, and is a leader 
in the counsels and actions of his party. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

DOCTOKS. • 

Samuel White — John Porter — Samuel Hale — Martin Phelps — I.saa(; Moore — 
Aniasa Scott — Edmund Carleton — Ezra Bartlett — Ezra Bartlett, Jr. — John 
Augier— Joel Angier — Anson Brackett — Simon B. Heath — Hiram Morgan — 
Henry Haj'es — Edward Mattocks — Phineas Spalding — Henry B. Leonard — 
Thomas Tenny— Samuel P.Carbee — Haven Palmer — INIoses D. Carbee — Clar- 
ence H. Clark — Edward J. Brown — Henry P. Watson — Charles R. Gil)son — 
Oliver D. Eastman — Charles Newcomb — Myron S. Wetherbee — .James B. 
Clark, Dentist — Moses N. Howland, Dentist. 

Doctors like lawyers exert a large influence in the com- 
munity in which they live. They are generally men of 
trained minds, often of the larg-est mental endowment, and 
rank favorably Avith any class of educated persons. Tlieir 
relation to the conmiunity under peculiar circumstances sfives 
them a strong hold on the aftections and confidence of indi- 
viduals and families. The doctors of Haverhill from the 
first will compare fiivorably with those of other country 
towns, whilst there are names in the list which for hiirh 
character, professional skill and large ability, have more than 
a local renown. Of some of the earlier physicians not nuich 
has come down to our time, l)ut through the care of the late 
Dr. W. H. Carter of Bradford, who knew him well, a 
minute accoimt of probably the first physician that practised 
medicine in Haverhill is perserved. 

SAMUEL WHITE 

Was this first physician, and began the practice of medicine 
in this region in 1773. He was born in Plaistow in 17.50, 
and studied medicine with a prominent physician in Haver- 
hill, Mass., Dr. Brackett. After completing his studies he 
practised his profession in his native town for one or two 
years, and then came to Cohos, where a brother and sister, 
]Mrs. Jacob Kent, were living, and concluded to try his for- 
tunes in the infant settlement. He was avcII qualified by 



•288 H18TOKY OF IIAVEUHILL. 

sound knowledge and self-reliance for the duties of his pro- 
fession, notwithstanding his early advantages of education 
were somewhat limited. Although living in Xewbury, he 
was in reality the physician of Newbury and Haverhill, since 
both settlements were as one community at that time. In- 
deed, he was for a while the only physician in all this region, 
and often was called long distances to see patients, going on 
foot or on snow-shoes over untrodden ways. Thei'e was no 
physician north of him, and he went as far as Lancaster on 
professional duty. During the Kevolution he acted as sur- 
geon to the soldiei's stationed in this section, and on one 
occasion he accompanied troops to western ^"ermont. He 
had the confidence of the people, and Avas successful in treat- 
ment of diseases. He Avas fond of story, and abounded in 
wit and humor, remarking on one occasion that he had 
" poor luck with his patients in their last illness." Two of 
his book accounts, — 1773 to 171)0, — Avere in existence a 
few years since, and glAS an insight into the medical practice 
of that day. For an ordinary A'isit the charge Avas a shilling, 
about tAventy-fiAC cents ; to Haverhill, from two to six shil- 
lings. Medicine Avas always charged extra. Dr. AVhite 
used few remedies as a rule, although he mentions one hun- 
dred and fifty remedial agents in the two book accounts men- 
tioned above. Some sort of physic stands first, being used 
one thousand six hundred and thirty times. Bleeding Avas 
common, five hundred and four times. Surgical operations 
were few and confined mostly to minor cases ; ten arms and 
three legs Avere set during the period covered by the two 
book accounts. He mentions during the same period only 
seven confinements, due probably to the greater employment 
of inid-Avives in those days. Alcohol took the place of 0})i- 
ates. Dr. White had a large family of children, consisting 
of several pairs of tAvins. 

JOHX rORTER 

Is spoken of as Dr. Porter as early as 1776 in connection 



DOCTORS. 2<Si> 

Avith tlic preliiuinarv evidence in regard to Col. Asa Porter's 
connection with the cons])iracy to hand the Cohos country 
over to the British. Ikit whether he was a |)ractisin<>' phy- 
sician of Haverhill is not certain. Nothing is known ot him 
except that he was probably a brother of Col. Asa Porter. 

THADDEUS BUTLER. 

Dr. Butler was one of the earlier physicians of Haverhill, 
but of whom little is learned. He probably came to the 
Cohos Settlement in the closing years of the Revolution, as 
he was married before 1783, and he died within a few years, 
as his widow, who Avas a daughter of Col. Timothy Bedel, 
married Samuel Brooks in 1787 or 1788. 

SAMUEL HALE. 

Samuel Hale's name is mentioned in the Proprietors' record 
as a physician, and in 1778 he is voted eighteen shillings for 
doctoring Ezekiel Chapman's family, but whether he was a 
settled physician in Haverhill is not certainly known. 

MARTIX PHELPS. 

It is not certain when Dr. Phelps came to Haverhill, but 
it was as early as 1782, since in that year he acted as attend- 
inof suro-eon to the soldiers at Haverhill under Col. Charles 
eTohnston. His name appears as one of the original mem- 
bers when the First Congregational church was organized in 
1790, and he was chosen a deacon in the church. Nothing 
can be learned of his early days, and little is perserved con- 
cerning his life in Haverhill, except that tradition comes 
down that he Avas a man of great excellence of character, 
and was regarded as a competent physician in those days 
A\hen medical science Avas crude as compared Avith its present 
advanced position. He lived on Ladd street Avhere ]Mrs.. 
Osgood Morse now lives. He married a dauo-hter of Sam- 
uel Ladd. Dr. Phelps moved from Haverhill in 1792, and 
accordiner to tradition Avent to Keene. 



290 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

ISAAC MOORE 

Was a practising physician in Haverhill as early as 1787. 
He was of Scotch origin, and was born in Worcester, Mass., 
in 1765 and came to this region in early life. He was 
trained in a rugged atmosphere, and saw when only fifteen 
years of age the sacking of Royalton, Vt., by the Indians 
and British. He remained in Haverhill only a few years, and 
then, 1790, moved to Bath. By a vote of Bath in 1789 
Dr. Morse was directed to ' ' set up a house of inoculation " 
in that town, but the prejudice against the project was so 
stronof that the buildinf; was torn down before it was finished. 
The next year, however, he renewed the project and com- 
pleted a small-pox hos[)ital, and advertised the same in a 
paper in Windsor, Vt., for the accommodation of " those 
who wished to take the small-pox by the easy and safe 
method of inoculation." During his residence m Bath he 
also was the attending physician to many people in Littleton, 
and finally moved to the north part of the town in 1806, 
but remained only a few years and returned to Bath. He 
w^as somewhat prominent in town matters, and kept a public 
house in his closing years, which it is thought had some rela- 
tion to his early death in 1818. His wife was a daughter of 
Col. Timothy Bedel, and was quite young at the time of her 
marriage. They had a family of thirteen chikh^en. Dr. 
]\Ioore is reported as a man of much natural talent, and as 
having' a jjenius for medicine and the treatment of diseases, 
though his knowledge of books was not large. He was 
noted for his humor, and is said to have been somewhat 
rough in manners and speech which shocked those of refined 
tastes. 

AM AS A SCOTT. 

Dr. Scott came to Haverhill as the successor of Dr. Phelps 
and lived in the Phelps house on Ladd street, which he kept 
as a sort of hospital tavern for invalids. Of him even less 
is known than of Dr. Phelps. He moved from Haverhill at 



DOCTORS. 291 

the beginning of tlie present century, probably went to Han- 
over ; at least he lived in Hanover in 1815, for in that year 
he went to Warren to attend spotted fever patients, which 
disease raged with such fury and destructiveness in that town, 
and is said to have had excellent success in treating such 
cases, when other physicians seemed entirely to have failed. 
During Dr. Scott's residence in Haverhill he served as mod- 
erator in l<S00-l-2. 

EDMUND CARLETON. 

Dr. Carleton was born in Ha:\erhill, Mass., in 1771, and 
studied medicine in Dover. He came to Haverhill in 1796, 
and [)iirsued the practice of his profession for over forty 
years, dying in 1838. He was a prominent man in the com- 
munity, and especially took an active part in the work of the 
church, in the history of which he was a large and influen- 
tial factor, and held the office of deacon for nearly a quarter 
of a century. 

In his profession he stood high, being perhaps the leading 
physician in this region, and he enjoyed a large and lucrative 
practice. He was nuich in demand for consultation Avith 
neighboring doctors. He was regarded as a progressive 
physician in his day. Even as long ago as in his earlier 
practice, it is said, he used the more diminutive doses in the 
administration of medicine, and maintained that he found 
better results than could be secured by the customary method 
then in vogue. In this he simply anticipated a change that 
has now become the rule, and the fact distinguishes him as a 
man of an inquiring and scientific turn of mind. 

Dr. Carleton lived at first in a small house which stood a 
little south of the large house he afterwards built and which 
for many years was the residence of his son Arthur. Dr. 
Carleton had a family of seven children. Edmund, the 
oldest son, (see Chap. XVII) ; two sons moved to Indiana, 
and Arthur remained on the old homestead. He married 



292 HISTORY OF HAVEllHILL. 

Sarah A. Atherton, a woman of much intelligence and of 
noble character. One of Dr. Carleton's danghters, Joanna, 
became Mrs. Wilder, now living in St. Johnsbury, Vt., and 
is the only survivor of Dr. Carleton's family. Mrs. Charles 
Adams of Windsor, Vt., is a granddaughter of Dr. Carle- 
ton, 

Dr. Carleton died of cancer, and for several years before 
his death he had retired from ])ractice. He was a quiet but 
genial man, with a spicing of quaint and subtle humor. 
Though undemonstrati\'e in manner and conversation, he 
was full of animation when he got interested in a subject, and 
had a habit of enforcing his argument with the phrase, "fact 
is." He had a shrewd mind and a keen insight into men 
and things, and was a man of great good nature, whom every 
body esteemed and loved, and he combined with this, kind 
"words and acts with dignity of deportn)ent. He was pre- 
eminently a good man, and was the friend of the church and 
of the minister. His life illustrates the words, " the good 
we do lives after us." 

EZRA BARTLETT. 

Dr. r)artlett was a ^ery prominent person both as a physi- 
cian and as a public man in Grafton county. He was born 
in Kingston in 1770. His father was Josiah Bartlett, gover- 
nor of the state in 1790, and also one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence. Dr. Bartlett before moving 
to Haverhill in 1812 was a practicing physician for some 
years in Warren, where he had gained a wide reputation as 
a skilful physician and surgeon. He was in active practice 
in Haverhill for thirty-six years, and was during that time a 
leading phvsician in this region, sharing the field part of the 
time with Dr. Carleton. He Avas frequently called for con- 
sultation in neighboring towns. Dartmouth College con- 
ferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts in 
1829. 



DOCTORS. 2tl3 

In addition to his duties as a physician he hehl many posi- 
tions of public trust and honor. During his residence in 
Warren lie represented that town in the legislature. In 
1822 he was a nieniher of the governor's council, and was 
at one time a presidential elector and a state senator. He 
also held judicial positions, though not a professional lawyer, 
as in early times ])ersons were elevated to such [)la('es, Avhose 
knowledge of the law was not a prime quali^cation. Clergy- 
men, physicians and merchants wore the ermine, and it is 
said they made better judges than professional lawyers did. 
Dr. Bartlett was an associate judge of the court of Common 
Pleas, judge of the Circuit court, and chief justice of the 
Court of Sessions, and all these places he filled with credit 
to himself and with fidelity to the public. 

Dr. Bartlett had a large family of children, and of the 
seven sons, five adopted the profession of their father, some 
becoming quite eminent as physicians. One of the sons, 
Josiah, was a skillful practitioner in Straiford, and lost 
his life in the great draw-bridge disaster at Xewalk, Conn. ; 
another son, Levi, was a physician in Syracuse, X. Y. ; 
Ezra, (see infra.) 

Dr. Bartlett was a man of character and hif>h standina', 
and exerted a strong infiuence, not only as a jn-ofessional 
man, but also in a general way on tiie connnunity. lie dit'd 
in- 1S4<S. 

EZRA r.AUTLETT, JR. 

Dr. Ezra Bartlett, Jr., son of the -above, was born in 
A\'arren in 1811, and came Avhen a year old with his parents 
to Haverhill. His early education was received in the com- 
mon schools and at Haverhill Academy, where he fitted for 
college, but did not enter. After studying medicine witli his 
uncle, Dr. John French of Bath, and with his fatiicr, lie at 
tended lectures at the medical department of Dartmouth 
College, and graduated in 1882. 

He went to ^'irginia and began the practice of medicine 



294 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

in Warminster, but remained only one year. Being called 
to Haverhill on account of his father's illness, he entered into 
partnership with him. He practised his profession, however, 
only a few years in Haverhill, and then went to South Ber- 
wick, Me., where he continued fifteen years. After this he 
was a physician in East Boston for four years and then moved 
to Exeter, where he has continued to live and to practice 
medicine till within a few years, when he retired from active 
professional duties. 

During the last two years of the War of the Rebellion he 
was a "contract surgeon," and was assigned wherever his 
services were most needed. He was for the greater part of 
the time on duty with the armies operating in Tennessee and 
in Georgia. After Gen. Sherman's march to the sea, he 
went to Hilton Head, S. C., and soon after returned home. 

Dr. Bartlett married twice : first, Sarah Calef of Saco, 
Me., and second, Mrs. Eleanor Augusta Tucker, widow of 
John Hubbard, a lawyer of South Berwick, ]\Ie. By the 
first marriage there is one surviving child, Josiah Calef 
Bartlett. 

Dr. Bartlett has been a very successful and skillful ])hysi- 
cian, and has always enjoyed a large and lucrative practice. 
He is fond of social life and enjoys the society of his friends. 

JOHN ANGIER. 

Dr. Angier was born in Fitzwilliam in 1784. Of his 
early education nothing is known. He first began the prac- 
tice of medicine in Alstead, but very soon after that he went 
to Maine for a short time, and then returned to Alstead. In 
1827 he came to North Haverhill, and was, it is said, the 
first physician that lived in that part of the Town. He is 
reported to have been a good physician with quite an exten- 
sive practice. He died in 1836, losing his life by being 
thrown from a buggy whilst on a visit to Weathersfield, Vt. 
He was a lariic man, over six feet hii>h, well built. He took 



DOCTORS. '2\)5 

an active part in })ublie matters, and was a man of energy 
and ability. In looks he resembled, it is said. Gen. Jack- 
son, so much so, that when the hero of New Orleans came 
to Concord during his presidency, Dr. Angier who was a 
member of the legislature and one of the marshals when 
Gen. Jackson was escorted to the State House, was taken 
for the old hero by the throng which was present on that 
occasion. 

Mrs. Nathaniel M. 8wasey is a dauglitcr of Dr. Angier. 
and two sons, J. Dorsey and George W., (see Chap. XIX.) 

JOEL ANGIEH. 

Dr. Joel Angier was a ne})hew of Dr. John Angier, and 
came to Haverhill in 1840 from Acworth. He was a physi- 
cian at North Haverhill for five or six years, and then moved 
to Swiftwater and later to Bath, ])ractising his profession in 
both places. He is said to have been a good physician. 
From Bath he went into the western country. 

AXSOX BKACKETT. 

Dr. Anson Brackett was born in ^^'heel()ck, Vt., and pur- 
sued the study of medicine with Dr. Alexander of Danville. 
Yt., and took his degree of M. D. from the Medical College 
of Burlington, Vt. He began the practice of medicine in 
North Danville, Vt., but in a few years he moved to Lyons, 
N. Y., where he gained much success in his profession. 
Afterwards he came to Haverhill and remained here about 
six years, and then moved to Gainsville, Fla., where he 
lived till his death. Dr. Brackett married twice : first, ^Nlarv 
Chamberlain of Ijvndon, At., and second, a lady in Massa- 
chusetts. He had no children. 

Dr. Brackett was a man of more than ordinary ability, 
and with his natural talents he combined great energy and 
decision of character, which made him a leader in his profes- 
sion. Though not a lil)erally educated man in academic 
studies, he was well-read in the science of medicine, and 



29(> HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

was not only one of tlie leading; phy.sician of the vicinity 
whilst he lived in Haverhill, but after g'oing to Gainsville, 
Fla., he rose to be one of the first physicians and suro;eons 
in that State. He displayed in early practice an aptitude 
and skill in siirg-ery, and performed whilst in Haverhill some 
very important operations. He amputated the leg of Frank 
P>. Palmer, who afterwards became famous as the inventor 
of a world-renowned artificial limb. I'iie case was a very 
critical one, the leg being torn in a bark mill in Bradford, 
Vt., and the patient was much exhausted before the opera- 
tion was performed. Dr. Brackett was an uncompromising 
temperance man, and would allow no stimulants to be admin- 
istered to the young man, but after the liiiib was taken off, 
and being appealed to l)y his assistant physician, he con- 
sented to a strong cup of tea being given the patient. Those 
who knew Dr. Brackett and had an oji})ortunity to estimate 
his abilities and learning, give it as their opinion that had 
he passed his professional career in one of our larger cities, 
he coidd ha^e gained a foremost rank as a skilled physician 
and surgeon. He was a man of high character, devoted as 
a husband, true as a friend, and fiithful to all his })ublic 
duties. 

sniox B. mf:ath. 
The record of this person is brief and his life may be said 
■to have been a failure. He was a man of considerable nat- 
ural ahility, but as is so often the case, it was sadly misused. 
Dr. Heath studied medicine with Dr. Brackett, and when 
the latter moved to Florida, he took his place as a practi- 
tioner in Haverhill. In a year or two he associated with 
himself Dr. Hiram Morgan, but the partnership did not 
prove hai)py, and was soon dissolved. In 1842 Dr. Heath 
left ILnerhill and moved to Groton, \t. His besetting in- 
firmity was intemperance. 



DOCTORS. 297 

I II RAM MORGAN'. 

Dr. M()r<i:an was horn in Rochester, Vt., in 1804, and 
recei\C(l his early C(hication in the common schools of his 
native [ilace. He was a bi-ig-ht-niinded l)oy, and pive early 
])romise of fntnrc usefulness and success. He beg'an the 
study of medicine witli Dr. Page of Bethel, Vt., and gradu- 
ated from the niedical school of Woodstock, Vt., in 1833. 
He first practised his profession in Hancock, and afterwards 
in Corinth, Vt., and then came to Haverhill and was for a 
short time in partn(M-shi[) with Dr. Heath, After a profes- 
sional career in Haverhill for ten. or twelve years, he went to 
Xew York and attended a course of lectures in that city, in 
(n'der to prosecute his work more successfully, but soon after 
his return he was striken with a severe disease and was so 
broken in health that he relinquished the practice of medicine 
during the remainder of his life. Dr. Morgan was a man of 
natural ability, and but for his health he would undoubtedly 
have risen to a very high position in his })rofession. Soon 
after coming to Haverhill he married Elizabeth, daughter of 
Col. Edward Towle, a woman of most gentle spirit and of 
refined tastes and culture, of whom the late AVilliam H. 
Duncan said, " The death of Mrs. Elizabeth Towle Morgan 
has taken away from the refined and intelligent society of 
Haverhill one of its most valued members." 

HENRY HAYES. 

Dr. Hayes was a Scotchman, and came to Haverhill from 
Stanstead, Canada. He pursued his {)rofessional studies 
with Dr. Colby of that place and was highly comnicnded to 
the peoj)le of Haverhill by his preceptor. When he began 
the })ractice of medicine in Haverhill his prospects were 
g(jod, and he was em[)loyed by many of the best families 
who became warm friends of his. But at that time there 
was a super-abundance of physicians in Haverhill, and the 
comj)etition was so sharp, that Dr. Hayes moved to Brad- 



298 HISTOKY OF HAVERHILL. 

ford, Vt. , and practised his profession there for a time. He 
afterwards went to Irisburg, Vt., and remained several 
years, and then settled as a physician in Hartland, 
Vt., and later in Massachusetts where he died. Dr. Hayes 
was a well-read physician, but he did not seem to stay long 
in any one place, or take deep root. 

EDWARD MATTOCKS. 

Dr. Mattocks was a son of Governor jNIattocks of 
Vermont, and came to Haverhill about the same time that 
Dr. Hayes did, but he failed in securing business, and soon 
left for Lyndon, Vt. He died young and was unsuccessful 
in his profession. 

PHINEAS SPALDING. 

Di". Spalding easily ranks amongst the ablest of the physi- 
cians who practised medicine in Haverhill. He also is 
amongst those who practised their profession here for a long 
term of years. He was born in Sharon, Vt., in 1799, and 
is the son of Reuben and Joshua (Car})cnter) Spalding. 
He is the seventh in descent from the first American ances- 
tors of that name. His father at the age of fourteen, with 
an older brother, came from Connecticut to Vermont before 
the Revolution, and settled in Sharon. He was a man of 
streng character and sterling worth, prominent in civil and 
religious matters, a deacon in the church for fifty years, and 
a soldier in the Revolution. He lived to be nincty-tlu-ee 
years old. His wife was a woman of excellent character, 
and was devoted to the interests of the family. 

The early years of Dr. Spalding were passed on the farm, 
and his educational advantages were somewhat scanty, Imt 
by diligent application to study at night, after the work of 
the day was over, and with a strong desire to enlarge the 
range of his knowledge, he managed to lay the foundations 
of a good education and was enabled to teacli school, both 
in his native town and also in Montpelier, where he taught 




Q'/^^<Lat> Aj ua^L-dL-ori^a M.£^^ 



I 



DOCTORS. 2{)9 

for four years. He was very successful as a teacher, and 
threw into his work the full force of his natural energy and 
enthusiasm. Meantime he read medicine and pursued the 
study of Latin with his brother James. Afterwards he at- 
tended two courses of lectures at the medical school of Dart- 
mouth Colleo;e, and o-raduated from that institution in 1823. 
He began the practice of medicine at Lyndon, Vt., where 
for fifteen years he enjoyed a successful and prosperous pro- 
fessional career, and was one of the leading citizens of that 
town. In 1835 he received the honorary degree Master of 
Arts from the University of Vermont. Dr. Spalding moved 
to Haverhill in 1839, but the year before* he settled there he 
took a course of lectures at the Harvard Medical College 
and then went to Brooklyn, N. Y., with the intention of 
practising his profession in that city, but owing to the deli- 
cate health of his wife he abandoned his plan and returned 
to Lyndon and soon after moved to Haverhill, where he has 
since lived, in the enjoyment of an honored position in his 
profession and of a large and successful practice, till advanc- 
ing age admonished him to lay down a calling which he loved 
and adorned. 

Dr. Spalding has always taken a deep interest in his pro- 
fession, not only as a practitioner, but also in the advance- 
ment of medical science. He attended regularly the various 
medical associations of which he was a member, and con- 
tributed both to the papers which came before these bodies 
and also to their discussions. He has been a member of the 
Washington county and the Caledonia county Medical Socie- 
ties of Vermont, and was the originator of the Moosilauk 
Medical Society of Xew Hampshire and its president for 
many years. He was a delegate on several occasions to the 
American Medical Society and a frequent contributor of arti- 
cles and reporter of numerous cases to medical journals. 
One of these was of special interest, a case of " intcr-ca[)su- 
lar fracture of the thi^h-bone." This case he had success- 



oUO HISTORY OF ]IAVEKHILL. 

fully treated, though at that time a cure of such had been 
denied by the highest authority. The case was first reported 
in the Xew England Medical Journal for 1827, and after- 
wards an autopsy verified the cure. This verification was 
reported in the Boston Medical Journal. He also was a 
lecturer in 1841 on surgery in the Woodstock (Vt.) Medi- 
cal College, and had as associates in the faculty such well- 
known men as Drs. H. H. Childs, Alonzo W. Clark, B. B. 
Palmer and S. W. Thayer. He has been a positive factor 
in the advancement and achievement of his profession, both 
where he lived and through his contributions. His mind is 
both practical and scientific, and he is instinctively thorough. 

In addition to his medical acquirements he has been a well- 
read man in general subjects of history, religion and phil- 
osophv, and has been by no means a mere technical student- 
He has also written much for the secular and religious press, 
and within a year or two — he is now in his 90th year — he 
has written for the interest and pleasure and instruction of 
his family and intimate friends, " Spalding Memorial," a 
volume of three hundred and fifty pages, which discloses a 
wonderful tenacity of memory and use of his mental powers. 

Dr. Spalding has always taken a deep interest in public 
matters, and whatever concerns the well-being of society. * 
He was an early advocate of temperance, and organized in 
1828, it is supposed, the first temperance society of Ver- 
mont, and was president of the Caledonia County Yoimg 
]Men's Temperance Society when he moved from that state. 
He has always discarded the use of alcohol as a beverage, 
and also the use of tobacco. He has taken a prominent 
leading part in church matters, being a deacon in the Con- 
gregational church in Lyndon, Vt., also chosen to the same 
office in the church at Haverhill, which however, he declined, 
and has l)een one of the most active, valuable and liberal 
members of the church. In all matters of public interest, 
whether of town, church or state, he has been an energetic 



DOCTORS. 301 

and ])ubli('-!?pirite(l 'Iciider. Tlie first meeting in this reaion 
in rct'erenfc to the B. C c"c M. raih'oad "svas held in Ilaver- 
liill, and was called by him and Harry Stevens of Barnet, 
At. He has also been a warm friend of education ; was the 
prime mover in securing Lyndon Academy, took an active 
interest in Haverhill Academy, was one of its trustees for 
many years, gave to it time and money, and served for two 
years as sujierintendeut of schools in Town. 

Dr. Spalding would ha\e been a remarkable man in any 
comnmnit}'. His intellectual endowment is large, and his 
common sense is a conspicuous trait of his make-u[). His 
sense of humor is the least prominent feature of his mental 
character. His reasoning is direct and mathematical, and 
he always sees things in the concrete, and not as an abstrac- 
tion, though he is not wanting in a certain poetical turn of 
imagination. ^Morally, his ideal is high, and his sense of 
right and wrong is keen. His religious nature is de^•eloped 
more throuo-h his intellect than throug-h the emotions, thou£>h 
his kindness and sympathy are tender and deep. He takes 
large views of things, though a strong partisan in church 
and politics, and is never trivial in the treatment of questions 
of duty and action. What he does he does intelligently and 
from a conviction of what he sees is right. He is social, 
hospitable, fond of company, loves argument, and is entirely 
free from demagogism. He is a staunch friend of all that is 
good, and steadfast in purpose — full of hope, courage, 
energy. 

Dr. Spalding married twice : first, Caroline B. Lathrop. 
and they had two children, Caroline A., Mary G., jNIrs. Jas. 
H. Towle. Mrs. S[)alding died Avithin three years after 
coming to Haverhill, and was a woman of superior worth. 
.For his second Avife he married Charlotte ^Merrill, and their 
children are Frank M., living in Kansas, and Ada L. who 
married Henry D. Janes of New York. Mrs. Spalding 
died rccentlv and was a woman of marked excellence of 



302 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

character and of womanly grace and refinement. Miss Car- 
oline A. Spalding lived at home all her life and died a few 
years ago. She was a woman of superior ability and highly 
cultivated, and had gained an honorable position in literature, 
especially in poetry, a collection of which is })ublished in the 
" Spalding Memorial" volume. She was Haverhill's lit- 
erary woman. 

HENRY B. LEONARD. 

Dr. Leonard was the son of Gains and Eunice (Spalding) 
Leonard, and was born in Sharon, Vt. His early days were 
passed on a farm, but by perseverance he acquired a fair 
academic education, and commenced the study of medicine 
with his uncle, Dr. James Spalding of Montpelier, Vt., and 
graduated from the Medical College at Woodstock, Vt. He 
began the practice of his profession at North Haverhill in 
1842, and continued to do so till his death. He married 
Nancy Swasey of North Haverhill. They had no children. 
Dr. Leonard acquired a good reputation as a physician, and 
had quite an extensive and successful practice. He was a 
man much respected by his fellow citizens, and represented 
the Town in the legislature for several years. 

HOMER H. TI:NNY. 

Dr. Tenny became a practising physician in Haverhill in 
1858, but on account of ill health he did not remain long in 
Town. He moved to Kansas where he practised his profes- 
sion for a number of years till his death. He was a man of 
excellent character, and gained an honorable position in his 
profession. He married Sarah Johnston of Haverhill. 
They had no children. 

SAMUEL p. CARBEE. 

Dr. Carbee is the youngest son of John H. Carbee, and 
was born in Bath in 1836. In his youth he attended the 
common schools in his native town and afterwards pursued 



DOCTORS. 303 

his studies <at Newbury Seminary, where lie fitted himself to 
become a teacher in the public schools and followed that 
occupation for a time. In 1850 he began the study of medi- 
cine Avith Dr. Albert H. Crosby of AVells River, and con- 
tinued his studies with Drs. Dixi and A. B. Crosby of Han- 
over, but these were interrupted in 1892, when he enlisted 
as a private in the 12th Regiment N. H. Vol. He was sub- 
sequently commissioned an assistant surgeon, and served in 
that capacity till the close of the war. He was with his 
regiment at the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, 
Gettysburg, and Avas Avith the Army of the Potomac from 
the Wilderness to the capture of Richmond. 

After his discharge at the close of the war he at once re- 
sumed his medical studies at Dartmouth College, from which 
institution he graduated in 18B6. He began the practice of 
medicine at Haverhill as the successor of Dr. Tenny. 

Dr. Carbee has pursued his profession with enthusiasm 
and success, and has built up a large and lucrative 
practice. He is a man of energy and force, and wields a 
large influence. On a visit to the West several years ago he 
was prostrated with illness, and since his return he has 
somewhat withdrawn from the extensive practice of former 
vears. In the sick room he is a i>eneral faAorite, has a larffe 
circle of Avarm friends, and is a man of generous impulses 
and cheerful disposition. He is a member of the AVhite 
^Mountain and Xcav Hampshire ^Medical Societies, and for 
many years he has been medical examiner of leading life in- 
surance companies. He also served for tAvelve years on the 
examining board for pensions Avith Dr. AVatkins of NcAvbury 
and Dr. Nelson of Wells River. 

Dr. Carbee has ahvays been interested in public matters. 
He has been a delegate a number of times to county and 
state political conventions. In 1884 he Avas elected county 
commissioner on the Republican ticket and re-elected in 
188(3. He is public-spirited and gives cheerful aid in all 



304 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

matters for the progress of society. FIc is a member of the 
the board of education under the town-system. Dr. Carbee 
married X. Delia Buck, daughter of tlie late Lyman Buck. 

HAVEX rAL:\rEi{. 
Dr. Haven Palmer, son of Lewis and Susan H. Palmer, 
was born in Jefferson in 1843. His early education was 
acquired in the public schools and at Lancaster Academy. 
He began the study of medicine with Dr. Barney of Lancas- 
ter, and attended lectures at Bowdoin ^Medical College, from 
which institution he graduated in his profession. He first 
practised medicine at Went worth, remaining a little over a 
year, and then went to Haverhill in 1872 and was in partner- 
ship with Dr. Samuel P. Carbee for a year or two. After- 
wards he settled in Meredith where he continued till 1883. 
He is now a practising physician in Plymouth. Dr. Palmer 
is a successful practitioner and stands high in the profession, 
and is a man of high character. Being asked on occasion of 
a critical consultation to " take something," he declined, 
whereupon his brother physician said, "You are one in a 
thousand." " So be it," was the firm temperance answer. 
Dr. Palmer mai-ricd Lucy J. Ellis of Lancaster. 

MOSES D. CAr.EEE. 

Dr. Moses D. Carbee was born in Newbury, Vt., in 1847, 
the son of Thomas H. and Olive L. Carbee. He pursued his 
academic studies in the Academy at Lancaster, and studied 
medicine with Dr. Frank Bugbee of that Town. He at- 
tended lectures at the medical department of the University 
of Vermont, and graduated from that school in 1873. His 
first practice Avas at Lunenburg, Vt., but he remained there 
only a short time, and then coming to Haverhill in 1874 he 
entered into partnership with Dr. Samuel P. Carbee, Avhich 
continued till 1882. Since then he has been in practice by 
himself. He was post-master under President Hayes' admin- 
istration. Dr. Carbee also at one time was engaged in 



DOCTOKS. oOo 

teaching. lie married Mary F. Dexter of Xew York. The 
winter of" 1^8(3-7 he s])ent in California, on account of his 
health. He is sympathetic and faithfid in his professional 
duties. 

CLARENCE 11. CLARK. 

Dr. Clark's professional career was short. He came to 
Havei'hill in 1879, and began the })ractice of medicine. He 
was born in Newbury, Vt., and studied with Dr. Watkins 
of that })lace. His early school advantages were limited. 
He graduated from Dartmouth Medical College in 1878, and 
then went to ^Montreal as a subordinate officer in tlie hospital 
of that city, meantime attending lectures in his profession. 
He was well equipped for his duties as a physician, and was 
enthusiastically and studiously devoted to his profession. He 
remained in Haverhill only a few years, when on account of 
his health he was compelled to seek a warmer climate, spend- 
ing one winter in Colorado, but the disease under which he 
labored had gone too far in its fatal work, and he return(?d 
only to die in early manhood. During his short professional 
career in Haverhill, he won the esteem of a large circle, on 
account of his amiability and noble traits of character. He 
entered his professional life with bright prospects of the 
future. Dr.* Clark died of consum})tion. 

EDWARD J. BROWX. 

Dr. Brown was born in Burke, Vt., in 1851, the son of 
Dr. Ira and Emily (Clark) Brown. His early schooling- 
was received in his native place and at Wells River. He 
fitted for college at Kimball Union Academy, ]\Ieriden, and 
graduated from Dartmouth College in 1874. After leaving 
college he taught for several years in the AVest, and then 
began the study of medicine with his father, and graduated 
from the medical department of Dartmouth College in 1878. 
He then continued his studies in Xew York, and settled first 
in Littleton, remaining onlv one vear, and then came to 



306 IIISTOKY OF HAVERHILL. 

Haverhill in 18^0. Dr. Brown went to Minneapolis in 
1882, where he has since lived. He has been largely en- 
gaged for the state and city boards of health in quarantine 
duty as physician and inspector. He is a member of the 
state medical society, and also of that of the city of Minne- 
apolis, and is professor of chemistry, toxicology and pi-even- 
tative medicine in the jVIinneapolis College of physicians and 
surgeons. He is the founder of the society for the preven- 
tion of vice in Minneapolis. 

Dr. Brown is well-equipped in his professional studies, 
and to a mind naturally acute and fond of investigation, he 
adds the advantage of thorough training. He is self-reliant 
and independent, and is fond of literary pursuits. He is a 
man of high character and honor. 

HENRY P. WATSOX. 

. Dr. Watson's American ancestry settled early in the his- 
toric town of Salisbury, and belonged to the Society of 
Friends. He is the son of Hon. Henry L. Watson, M. D., 
and was born in Guildhall, Vt., in 1845. His early educa- 
tion was pursued in the common schools of his native town 
and the Essex county grammar school, and he fitted for col- 
lege at Newbury Seminary, Vt. He began the study of 
medicine with his father, continuing under the instruction of 
Drs. Dixi and A. B. Crosby of Hanover, and attended lec- 
tures at the Dartmouth ]\ledical College from which he grad- 
uated in 1800. He first practised his profession in 
Groveton, but in a year or two he moved to North Haverhill 
and continued there in the practice of medicine for about fif- 
teen years, when he came to Haverhill Corner. 

Dr. Watson came by a genius for medicine from his father 
Avho w^as a prominent practitioner in Vermont, as Avell as a 
citizen of public position, liaving been a state senator in 
Vermont for two terms, and then candidate of his party for 
speaker in 175G and "57, when a representative, besides hold- 



DOCTORS. 307 

ing otlier })laccs of public responsibility and trust. The son 
has devoted himself almost exclusively to his profession, in 
which he is a close and thorough student, and is in the enjoy- 
ment of a large and successful practice. He is also widely 
known as a skillful and successful sin-geon. He is now a 
member of the examining board for pensions at St. Johns- 
bury, Vt. 

Dr. AVatson is a man of undoul)ted ability, and is closely 
devoted to his calling, and stands high witli his brethren in 
the profession. Pie is social and genial, and takes a deep in- 
terest in all matters of jniblic concernment. He has been 
school superintendent and health officer and is also a justice 
of the peace. 

He married Evelyn ^Marshall of Northumberland, and 
they have three children ; the oldest son is a member of the 
Freshman class in Dartmouth College. 

CHAELES R. GIBSON. 

Dr. Giljson Avas born in Alstead in 1852, the son of Reuel 
and Emily (Barnard) Gibson. His father was a farmer, 
and his early education was acquired at the common schools. 
Fitting for college at Appleton Academy, Xew Ipswich, he 
graduated from Bowdoin College in 1872. He read medi- 
cine with Dr. S. T. Smith, and attended lectures at Bowdoin 
Medical College. After graduation he was a subordinate 
officer for a year and a half in ]Mainc General Hospital, 
Portland, Me. He began his professional life at Woods- 
ville in 1877, and is a skillful and successful practitioner, 
and a man of standing. He married Jennie Park of Ply- 
mouth in 1880. They have no children. Dr. Gil)son is a 
member of the local board of health, and a member of the 
Woodsville high school board of education. He is also sec- 
retary of the White ^Mountain Medical Society. 

OLIVER D. EASTMAN 

Was born in Sonora, California, and his father dving, he 



308 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

went to li^e with grand-parents in Vermont. His early edu- 
cation Avas received at the common schools, and he fitted tV)r 
college at Newbury Academy, Vt., and graduated from Dart- 
mouth Colleo-e in 1882. He read witli Dr. H. P. AVatson 
and in Dartmouth private course, attending lectures at Bur- 
lington, Yt., and Dartmouth Medical Colleges. He began 
the practice of medicine at Piermont, X. H., and came to 
Woodsville in 1884. He married Addie D. Davis of Pike 
Station in 1882, and they have three children. Dr. East- 
man is a careful and painstaking physician, and enjoys a 
large })ractice. 

CHARLES NEWCOMB. 

Dr. Xewcomb was born in Montpelier, Vt., in 1858, the 
oldest son of Luther Newcomb, who for over twenty years 
was clerk of the court for Washington County, Vt. His 
mother's name before her marriage was Amanda Thomas, 
daughter of Gen. Stephen Thomas of West Fairlee, Vt. 
His grandfather Newcomb was one of the pioneer pliysicians 
of northern Vermont, and settled at Derby in that state. 
Dr. Newcomb was educated at Montpelier and is a graduate 
of the Washington County grammar school of that place. 
He read medicine with Dr. C. M. Chandler of Montpelier, 
and attended lectures at Dartmouth JNledical Collcire and at 
the medical school in the University of Vermont. He took 
seven courses in both institutions, and graduated from the 
latter school in 1880. He began the practice of his profes- 
sion at West Fairlee, and was one of the physicians to the 
miners at Ely mines. In 1883 he moved to Washington, 
Vt., and in 1887 he came to North Haverhill. Dr. New- 
comb is well equipped for his profession, and has won a good 
share of success in the short time of his practice in Town. 
He married Elmira J. Hunt of Washington, Vt. They 
have one child. 



DOCTOIJS. 809' 

MYUOX S. WETHERBEE. 

Dr. Wetherbee was born in East Havcrliill, and his par- 
ents were Charles and Abigal (Woodward) Wetherbee. He 
received his education at the common schools, and has prac- 
tised medicine at North Haverhill for twenty-five years. He 
is an eclectic physician, a school of doctors that take what 
they consider the best in other systems of practice. Dr. 
Wetherbee is also engaged in farming. He married Eliza 
A. George and they have two children. 

DEXTISTUy. 

Haverhill has little history that belongs to this profession. 
Some of her })hysicians may have combined dentistry with 
their other professional duties, but the fact is not mentioned 
in our memoranda of that })rofession. 

JAMES B. CLARK. 

Dr. Clark was born in Bath in 1825, and came to Haver- 
hill when a boy about twelve years of age. He has been a 
dentist in Town for nearly twenty years, and resides at Hav- 
erhill Center. Dr. Clark has lived away from Haverhill a 
part of the time. He combines farming with his profession. 
He married Drusilla INI. Bisbee of Haverhill, 

:\IOSE8 N. HOWLAXI). 

Dr. Howland is a settled dentist in Lisbon, Inxt for about 
ten years he has had a branch office in Haverhill. At first 
he was in his office at Haverhill each week, but at jjrescnt 
he comes once a month. Dr. Howland married a daughter 
of the late Elder Shipman of LisI)on. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

HAVERHILL ABROAD. 

Haverhill's honorable career Abroad — Charles J. Adams — J. Dorsey and George 
Angler- Louisa Page Babcock— Baeon Brothers — Barstow Brothers : Alfred, 
Anson, Gardner — George Barstow — John Biirstow — Mary Barstow — Hazen 
Bedel — John Bedel — James W. Bell — John Bell— James P. Brewer— Samuel 
Brooks — Edwiu Brooks — Edward C. and George Burbeck — James A. Cut- 
ting—Frederick Crocker— Noah Davis— Moses Elkins — D. L. Farnsworth — 
Charles N. Flanders — Lucien H. Frary— Warren Gookin — Michael Gray- 
Hunts : Caleb S., Horace, Prescott, Helen — Johnstons : Charles, Hannah — John 
Kimball — William H. Leith — Merrill Brothers : John L., Benjamin, Charles 
H. — William Merrill— Arthur Mitchell — Morse Brothers .Peaboiiy A., George 
W., Isaac S. — Robert Morse — Joseph B. Morse — Thomas L. Xelson— Mies 
Brothers : Alonzo F., Horace I^. — George B., Nellie and Clara Nichols — Person 
Noyes — John A. Page — Moses S.Page — James H. Pearson — Samuel P.Pike 
— Elizabeth Abbott, Mary Webster, Henrietta Mumford and George Carrington 
Powers — John Reding — Rodgers Brothers: Levi and M. Carleton— Jonathan 
H. and Chester Rowell— Frank A. Smith— Lyman D. Stevens — Smiths : Lyn- 
don, Arnold, Stephen, Sanford, Carlos — William P. Stowe— The Tarletons — 
Towles : Frederick and James — Nathaniel Wilson — Edward B. Wilson — Wil- 
liam F. Whitcher— Harvey B. Wilmont— John L. Woods — Franklin P. Wood. 

A coniniimity or family shows the vigoi- and activity of its 
life in the fact of its perpetuation and progressive tendency. 
When the tide is full it o\erliows and spreads out into new 
limits. This tendency to spread al)r()ad has been a marked 
characteristic of New England, from whose populations a 
constant stream has flown out into other parts of the coun- 
try. Haverhill has been no exception to the general fact, 
Init has contributed her full share of sons and daughters who 
have gone out from the old hive, making their mark and 
contributing an active factor in the growth and progress of 
other comnumities. It will, therefore, be the aim of this 
chapter to chronicle the life of this overflow as being a legiti- 
mate part of the history of the parent communit}-. This 
record of the Town in this respect may not be as brilliant as 
that of some other towns. A numerous host of great names 
may not be found in the sketches given in this chapter, 
still the record is such as to reflect honor upon the Town and 
to show that in usefulness, success, influence and worthy en- 



IIAVEHTIILL AHHOAD. 311 

deavor, the Town has no cause to Ijlush for her sons and 
daughters abroad, many of whom if not great, as the worhl 
iroes, arc amonu'st the noblest snhits of the ao'c. Doubtless 
there are names that rightly deserve a place in this eha[)ter, 
but which have escaped attention or fallen from memory in 
the dinnning years of the past. The sketches cover the lives 
of such as have gone forth, and who by their energy, 
push, enterprise and devotion to duty, have been a positive 
factor in advancing the interests of society and have given 
strenoth and usefulness to human life. 

CIIAIJLES J. ADAMS 

AVas born in Haverhill, and is the oldest son of Stephen 
Adams. AVith his three brothers, ]\Iichael, Horace and 
Ezra, he went to Lowell, Mass., where they became exten- 
sively engaged in the furniture business, the firm name now 
beinof Adams & Co., and is the lariicst in that citv. Charles 
J., whilst he lived in Lowell was city marshal for a number 
of years, and he was also for a time deputy sheriff of ]\Iid- 
dlesex county. He afterwards moved to Cambridge, ]Mass., 
and had charge of the jail and house of correction for thirty- 
three years. He is still living in that city, at the age of 
seventy-seven. 

.T. DORSEY AXI) GEORGE W. AXGIER. 

Sons of Dr. Joiui and Xancy (Mann) Angier, were born in 
North Haverhill. Very early in life they went to northern' 
Pennsylvania and carried on the lumber business Avith nnich 
success. AVhilst thus engaged they observed on a mill-jjond 
or pond of water oil floating, and Mr. Dorsey Angier after 
thinking the matter over, made up his mind that the oil could 
be turned to use if it were gathered, and suggested the dig- 
ging of pits three or four feet s([uare, into which the water 
was allowed to flow, and then the oil was caught by woolen 
blankets and wrung out. The process was slow, but as oil 
at first connnanded a high price, it proved suflficiently remu- 



312 HISTORY OF HAVEilHlLL. 

nerative. ^Meantime, he insisted that tlie oil could l)e pro- 
cured by sinking wells, maintaining that as the oil comes 
with the water from the earth, there must be pools of oil in 
the earth. This idea was put into execution, and a well 
was sunk near the mill-dam or pond above mentioned, and at 
the de})th of sixty-nine feet, oil was reached. This gave im- 
mense impulse to the oil search, and one hundred wells were 
sunk in that section of the country. The Angiers made 
handsome fortunes, and are now living in Titusville, Pa. 

3IRS. LOUISA PAGI-] BA15COCK 

Is the oldest daughter of Samuel and Louisa (^Merrill) Page, 
and was born in Haverhill in 1820. She attended the 
Academy in Haverhill in lier girlhood years and with her hus- 
l)and was amongst the earliest emigrants who went to C^ali- 
fornia after tlie gold fever broke out in '49. With a strong 
and energetic spirit she took hold of the pioneer life of those 
days, and by industry, first in making rough clothing for the 
gold diggers, and then in taking boarders, she laid the foun- 
dation not only of enlarged usefulness in later life, but of 
financial success to an unusual degree. With excellent busi- 
ness judgment she wisely invested her careful earnings in 
real estate in San Francisco, where she now resides sur- 
rounded with the easy comforts of her industry, energy and 
forethought. ]Mrs. B. is a person of strong mind and 
womanlv character and has made herself felt in christian and 
philanthropic work. In religious sentiment she is an Episco- 
palian, and has taken an active part in supporting the church 
of which she is a member. Her first marriage name was 
Evans and then Xason, before she became Mrs. Babcock. 

BACOX BROTMEKS ELMER C. AND SUMNER V. 

The former lives in Cleveland, Ohio, and is a wholesale 
dealer in lightening rods. The latter is engaged in the iron 
business in the same city. 



IIAVEiniILL ARIJOAI). 313 

alfi:ed BAi;sT(nv 

Is the son of Dea. Ilenrv and Frances (Pierce) Barstow, 
and was born in Haverhill in 182I>. He lived there till he 
was eleven years of age, when his father moved to Clare- 
mont. AVhilst in Haverhill he attended the district school 
in his earlier years, and afterwards the academy of which he 
was the young janitor, taking care of the rooms and building 
the fires for his tuition. At Claremont he continued his 
studies till his father moved to Lowell, Mass., in 1844, 
where for four years he worked part of the time in the mills, 
and })art of the time he was a student at the grammar and 
high school. At the age of nineteen he entered the law 
office of his cousin, (ieorge Barstow of ]\Ianchester, remain- 
ing there for about a year, and when the California gold 
fever swept over the country he joined the Argonauts in 1849. 
He afterwards finished his law studies with the famous firm 
of Halleck, Billings iSc Park of San Francisco, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 18.")<S in that city. In 18<)'S he was 
admitted to the [)ractice of law in the United States Su- 
preme Court. From 1859 to 18(i5 he was connected with 
the post office department as special agent and as assistant 
superintendent of railway mail service. Mr. Barstow was 
also a justice of the peace of San Francisco for two years, 
an office ^here of great responsibility and honor, — there be- 
ing only six justices in the whole city, — with a salary of 
82,400 peramium. Meantime, he was interested in growing 
grapes in Santa Clara Valley, having now over one hundred 
acres under successful cultivation. He married in 1868 the 
daughter of his law partner, ex-Judge A. L. Phodes of the 
supreme court of California. His home is in Oakland, Cal., 
and his office in San Francisco. The firm of Rhodes t^c P)ar- 
stow is prominent and successful. 

^Ir. Barstow is a man of ability and force of character, a 
genial companion, of an inquiring mind, somewhat specula- 
tive and unti'aditional. 



314 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

ANSOX BAR8TOW, 

JBrother of the above is a grain merchant in Oakhmd, C'al. 

GARDNER BARSTOAV, 

Also a brother, is engaged in grain business in Chicago. 

GEORGE BARSTOAV 

Was the son of William Barstow of Haverhill. He was 
educated at the Academy and at Dartmouth College, but did 
not graduate from the latter institution. He read law with 
the distinguished Robert liantoul of Boston, and began the 
practice of his profession in that city. He afterwards moved 
to Hillsboro, and later to Manchester, and then to San Fran- 
cisco, Cal., where he died. Mr. Barstow was a man of 
ability and chai-acter, and gained success in his pi'ofessional 
career. He became interested in politics, and was a member 
of the California legislature, being honored with the speaker- 
shi}) of the house of representatives of that body. He also 
wrote a history of New Hampshire before leaving the state, 
and was a man of literary tastes and culture. He mai'ried 
Emily Shepley of Saco, ]\Ie. 

CHARLES W. BARSTOW, 

Brother of the above, Avas educated at the Haverhill Academy 
and Avas a devoted and successful INIoravian minister. He 
now lives at Ames, Iowa. 

JOHN BARSTOAV 

Is the son of the late Ezckiel H. and Eunice (Clark) Bar- 
stow, and Avas born in 1858. He fitted for college at St. 
John sbury, Vt., and graduated from Dai'tmouth College in 
1888. He afterwards studied theology in Hartford, Conn., 
and completed his theological studies at Andover, Mass., 
and is now settled at Groton, Mass. During his theological 
course he spent one year in Europe and the East in traAcl. 
He has the promise of success. 



HAVEIJHILL ARIIOAI). ol5 

JIARY BAKSTOW, 

Sister of the above, was born in 1850, and was educated at 
Bradford Academy, Mass. After graduating, she was ap- 
pointed teacher of music in her ahiia mater, and has held 
that position with eminent success for over eighteen years. 

HAZEX JiEDEL 

Was born In Haverliill in 1818, and received his education 
at the common schools and at Haverhill Academy, quitting 
school at the age of twelve years. It was in his early child- 
hood that his father. Gen. iSIoody Bedel, became financially 
embarrassed and was reduced to poverty. During this time 
he lived for five years in a family by the name of Jacob 
Williams, on the corner opposite the " Bliss Tavern,'" who 
kindly cared for him and sent him to the Academy for four 
years. This sunny episode in his childhood experience has 
always given Haverhill a warm place in his heart. "The 
good we do lives after us." 

Mr. Hazen leax'ned the shoemakers trade, but quit that for 
a clerkship in a store at Lancaster and at Colebrook, which 
he held till he was of age. He has often been called to pub- 
lic positions, being early commissioned a justice of peace, 
and at the age of twenty-six he was appointed colonel of the 
24th Regiment, N. H. militia, serving in that position four 
years. He was a member of the constitutional convention 
of 1850 and also of that of 187(5, has represented the town 
of Colebrook in legislature, was a councillor for two years, 
when Walter Harriman was governor, judge of probate for 
Coos county, county commissioner, a state commissoner for 
laying out appropriations for highways and postmaster for 
sixteen years. In addition to these he has been repeatedly 
entrusted with the management of town atfaii-s, and has been 
many times appointed a referee in the adjustment of causes. 
He has also been in nmch request in settling estates. 

Mr. Hazen beffan mercantile life in Colel)n)()k in l''S44 



310 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

and continued in that l)usiness for about thirty years, when 
he retired from it for the purpose of engaging in the manu- 
facture of hunber and starch. lie also has interests in starch 
mills in Aroostook county, Maine. He has lived in Cole- 
brook since he began business there, and has been a success- 
ful, enterprising, influential and highly esteemed citizen of 
the Town and county. He married Ann 8. daughter of Dr. 
Lyman Loml)ard of Colebrook, and of their six children 
three are living, a son and daughter in Colebrook, and a 
daughter is studying medicine in Washington, D. C. Mr. 
Hazen belongs to the order of Masons, and has held high 
degrees in that fraternity. 

.TOHX BEDEL, 

A younger brother of the above, was at tiie time of his death 
one of the most honored and esteemed citizens of Bath. He 
was born in 1823, whilst his father for a time was li\ing in 
Indian Stream, in Coos county. He received his education in 
the common schools in Bath and at Xewbury Seminary, Vt., 
and had the honorary degree of A. ]M. conferred upon him by 
Dartmouth College in 1869. He pursued his law studies 
with Hon. Hprry Hibbard of Bath, but before he was ad- 
mitted to the bar he volunteered in the jNIexican war, and 
was a lieutenant under Gen. Pierce. After the close of that 
war he finished his law studies, and was admitted to the bar 
in 1850, and at once began the practice of his profession in 
l>ath. In a few years he was a])pointed to a special service 
in the treasury department in adjusting the claims of govern- 
ment agents who had made ex jmrte settlements with "Uncle 
Sam." When the civil war broke out he resigned his duties 
at Washington, and offered his services to his country. He 
was appointed major of the 3d lieg. N. H. Vol. and soon 
after he was ])romoted to be lieutenant colonel, and whilst in 
prison at Columbia, S. C, he was made a colonel. He 
was taken prisoner in one of the assaults on Fort AVagner, 



IIAVEHTIILL ABROAD. ol7 

Charleston HarI)or, and remained such for over a year, en- 
during much suffering and privation. After he was paroled 
he at once went to Washington, and laid before the authori- 
ties the sufferings of our soldiers in Rebel prisons. There 
can be no doubt that his earnest presentation of the necessity 
of an exchange of prisoners brought about that result. 
Soon after his return tcj liis regiment he was promoted to be 
a briofadier oencral of volunteers. When the war ended he 
returned to Bath, and enjxaoed extensivelv in the manufac- 
ture of starch. He represented Bath in the legislature for 
two years, and was tlie Democratic candidate for governor in 
1869 and again in 1870. On both occasions, notwithstand- 
ing his S])lendid service in the Avar, he failed of an election. 
Gen. Bedel married ]Mary Augusta, daughter of Hon. Jesse 
Bourns of Nashua. Only three of their seven children are 
living. Gen. Bedel died in 1875. 

JAMES W. 15ELL, 

Son of the late James Bell of Bolton, was born in HaAcr- 
hill. He received his early training at Haverhill Academy. 
He followed the business of a decorator in Boston, and was 
associated with his brothers-in-law, ]\IcPhersons, in that pro- 
fession. He gained large success in his business, and during 
the administration of President Grant he was decorator of 
the White House, and was widely and prominently known. 
He is now retired on an ample fortune. 

JOHX BELL, 

Brother of the aboNC, was born in Haverhill, and received 
his education at the Academy and at Bolton, jNIass. He is 
a prominent and successful dentist in Boston, and pursued 
his professional studies in that city. He lives at Chelsea, 
Mass. 

.JAMES r. BREWER 

Was born in Claremont in 1818, and came to Haverhill with 
his parents when only a few months old, and may, therefore, 



318 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

be properly claimed as a Haverhill boy. He lived in Haver- 
hill till nearly eighteen years of age, and then went to Clare- 
niont, where he carried on the business of a merchant for 
over a quarter of a century. The trade of the store was 
very large. On one occasion, before the times of railroads, 
he bought 40,000 bushels of wheat in Michigan, which he 
had ground into flour, and then shipped to Whitehall, N. 
Y. by water, from whence it was carried across the Green 
mountains by teams, to Claremont, and sold for $4.00 and 
$4.50 a barrel. Subsequently he moved to Pittsburg, Pa., 
and was engaged very extensively in the lumber business for 
a number of years. For the last ten years he has lived in 
Cleveland, Ohio, and has in a great measure retired from 
active business life. Whilst in Pittsburg he was chiefly en- 
ofaixed in the cutting: of box-boards for the manufacture of 
o-lass boxes. The mill was a very extensive one, running 
day and night with fifty-three circular saws, and two uprights 
for sawins: loi^s of immense thickness. The sale of saw-dust 
more than defrayed the cost of coal for steam-power, whilst 
the coarse dust from the upright saws was consumed with the 
coal . 

Mr. Brewer has been eminently successful in all avenues of 
enterprise in which he has engaged. He is a man of great 
energy and force of character, of superior business ability, 
and has justly amassed a large fortune in the forty years of 
his active business life. In his earlier days he had to strug- 
gle with poverty, and received only a common school educa- 
cation, with the exception of a single term in Haverhill 
Academy, the tuition for which he paid out of his earnings 
after he left the school. At the age of about sixteen he 
made every mortice and tenon in the old part of the little 
house his parents lived in next north of the Methodist church. 
He is entirely self-made and owes little to circumstances, 
and is a man of large intelligence and careful observation, 
whose conversation on the many practical questions of busi- 



MAVEKIIILL ABROAD, 81^ 

ness and finance is instructive and entertaining. lie has 
been in every part of our country. In manners he is agree- 
al)le and dignified, with a frank and kindly nature, and is a 
good example of the best type of American character. In 
physique he is tall and well built with a strong and winning 
face. 

]\Ir. Brewer married Mary C. Bingham of Claremont, 
whose father was a college class-mate and the room-mate of 
Daniel Webster. Paran Stevens, the great hotel man, was 
an uncle of hers. Her mother's maiden name was Poole, 
from which j\Ir. Brewer gets his middle name, and was the 
daughter of Gen. Poole of Hanover. They have no child- 
ren. The immediate occasion of their mo vine; to Pittsburo; 
was Mrs. Brewer's health, who was a oreat sufferer from 
catarrh and bleeding of the nose, and tlie change proved a 
perfect cure. 

SAMUEL IJKOOKS 

Was born in Haverhill in 1798 and was the oldest child of 
Samuel and Anna (Pjcdel-Butler) Brooks. He married 
Eliza Towle of Haverhill, and for a short time lived in New- 
bury, Vt. Afterwards he moved to Canada and became 
prominent as a merchant in Stanstead. Later he lived in 
Lennoxville where he was extensively interested in trade and 
agriculture. In l<So7 he was sent as a delegate by leading 
citizens of the eastern townships to London, for the purpose 
of enlisting capitalists in the development of the resources of 
that region. Being successful in his mission the British 
Land Company of London was formed in the following year, 
and he was appointed agent of the company. He changed 
his home to Sherbrooke which was the central point of the 
companys' operations. He was also manager of a branch of 
the city bank of ^Montreal. During all these years he took 
an active and prominent part in every enterprise, and repi'c- 
sented his county most of the time till his death in the pro- 



320 HISTORY OF HAA'EinilLL. 

vincial legislature. He was an active promoter of the Grand 
Trunk railroad from Montreal to Portland, and was a man 
of large liberality and warmly devoted to all endeavors for 
the upbuilding of society in every good and worthy way, 
and the church found in him a staunch and true friend. 

Two of jNIr. Brooks' sons, William and Charles have been 
successful in business, and now reside in Chicago. For 
many years they lived in Lennoxville and Sherbrooke, Can- 
ada. Samuel Towle is a graduate of Dartmouth College in 
the class of 1874, and of ]\IcGill University in medicine and 
practised his profession for a number of years at Sherbrooke, 
Canada. Aftervvai'ds he moved to St. Johnsbury, Yt., 
where he has since lived in the successful pursuit of his pro- 
fession, and is a Avell-known physician and a man of high 
character. Edward Towle is also a graduate of Dartmouth 
College, and became prominent as a lawyer. lie Avas for 
several years a senator in the Dominion GoAernment at 
Ottawa, and is now one of the judges in the Canadian 
courts. The only daughter became the wife of Justice John 
Sewell Sanl)orn, a prominent man in Canadian politics and 
government, and a brotlier of the late Prof. Sanljorn of 
Dartmouth College. 

EDWIX BROOKS 

Is the youngest son of Sanuiel and Hannah (Bedel-Butler) 
Brooks. He Avas liberally educated and practised law in 
New York Avith success for many years. Afterwards he Avent 
to California and continued the practice of his profession in 
San Francisco. He is distinguished as a linguist as Avell as 
a lawyer, and bears the multitudinous name of Edwin Luke 
Brown Brooks. He is still living. 

BURBECK BROTHERS EDAVARD C. AND GEORGE, 

Sons of William H. and Sally Putnam (Carleton) Burbeck. 
The former Avas born in Hanover in 1846, fitted for college 
at Meriden, and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1871. 



IIAVEKIIILL AlJUOAl). 321 

After leaving college he was principal of the high schools at 
East Abington and at Winchendon, ]\Iass., and of ]Mt. 
Pleasant graninier school, Nashua, where he remained four- 
teen years, and is now principal of the Danvers (Mass.) 
graramer school. He married Luella Carleton of AVest 
Newbury, Vt. 

C4EORGE BURBECK 

AVas born in Haverhill in 1850, fitted for college under Rev. 
E. H. Greeley and at New London, and is a graduate of 
Dartmouth College in the class of 1875. Immediately after 
leaving college he went to California, and was a clerk in the 
post office at Oakland for several years, and is now teller in 
the first national bank of that city. He married Ella B. 
Giffbrd, and is deacon in the First Congregational church of 
Oakland. 

JAMES A. CUTTING 

AVas the son of Abijah Cutting, and was born in Haverhill. 
He was noted for his inventive genius, but was not always 
successful in his plans. At one time he Avas a pension agent 
in Boston, and accumulated a handsome property. He de- 
vised the Aquarial Garden in Boston, and invented a loco- 
motive spark extinguisher. He was also the inventor of the 
ambrotype. He Avas a man of undoubted genius in his line 
of work, and had a name for integrity. He died in Boston 
many years ago. 

FKEDEKICK CROCKER 

Is the youngest son of Edward Bass and Elizabeth (Gibson) 
Crocker, and was born in 1811 on the Isle of Orleans about 
five miles below Quebec, where his father lived in the earlier 
years of this century, but at the breaking out of the war of 
1812 he returned to North Haverhill, his native })lace. 
Frederick lived in Haverhill and in Bath till 1842, when he 
went South and eniiaijed in business with uuich success. In 



322 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

1840 he returned North, and soon after married Hannah 
B. Dodge of Bath. Of tlieir family of twelve children only 
two sons are living. ]Mr. Crocker and others from this sec- 
tion went to north-western Pennsylvania and engaged in the 
lumber business, which however did not prove a fortunate 
venture, and the accumulations of former years in the South 
were swept away. Afterwards he moved to Olean, N. Y., 
and entered into business again, this time with better success. 
Whilst on a trip to Pittsburg with lumber in 1859, he heard 
of the discovery of petroleum on Oil Creek, and at once 
hastened to the fields of discovery and engaged in the oil 
business. Whilst studying the surface-indications of petro- 
leum in that section he remembered that he had seen similar 
indications in northern Alabama and near the mouth of the 
St. Lawrence river, and formed the theory that the oil lay in 
a belt running from the mouth of the St. Lawrence river to 
the western side of the Gulf of Mexico, a theory which is 
now accepted as the correct one in regard to the trend and 
locality of the oil belt. 

]Mr. Crocker has made and spent hundreds of thousands 
of dollars in search of oil-deposits. A few years ago he 
with others organized a company to operate in Washington 
county, Penn., in the search of oil on the theory which he 
had previously formed. Numerous wells Avere drilled in that 
region, and although little oil was found these wells furnished 
an unlimited quantity of gas of very great value, which was 
conveyed to Pittsburg in pipes many miles away, and so 
generally has this gas come into use for fuel in manufactur- 
ing, that the use of coal is now almost entirely done away 
with, and the once smoky and sooty city of Pittsburg is, in 
the words of Mr. Crocker, "a clean city." The company 
to which he belongs owns wide tracts of leased oil-lands in 
that section of the country, and petroleum is found in large 
quantities in all directions. ]Mr. Crocker is still an active, 
enterprising man at the advanced age of 79 years. 



HAVERHILL ABROAD. 323 

XOAII DAVIS 

Is the son of Noah and Freelove (Arnold) Davis, and was 
born in Haverliill in 1818. He was seven years old when 
his father moved to Albion, N. Y., and received his educa- 
tion in the connnon schools of that state, with the exception 
of a single term at the Weslyan Seminary, Lima, X. Y. 
After pursuing his law studies the requisite time, he was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1841, and began the practice of his pro- 
fession at Buffalo, where he remained only a short period, 
and then moved to Albion and formed a partnership with the 
late Sanford E. Church, who afterwards was chief justice of 
the court of a})peals of New York. This partnership con- 
tinued until 1857, when Judge Davis was appointed to the 
supreme court l)ench of New York to fill a vacancy, and in 
tlie following fall of that year he was elected for the fall term 
of eight years, serving the last of the eight years as a judge 
of the court of appeals. He was elected for a second term, 
but before the expiration of the time he was compelled to 
resign on account of failing health. In 1869 he was elected 
to congress from the Rochester District, but only remained 
in that position till the close of the long term, when he was 
appointed United States district attorney for the southern 
district of New York, which office he held for about three 
years, and then took his seat on the supreme court bench in 
the city of New York, to wliich he was elected for a term of 
fourteen years. 

Judge Davis is a man of the highest character and of 
great ability, and is esteemed one of the ablest jiu'ists in the 
country. He is one of the foremost citizens of New York, 
and sat in the famous trial of William ]M. Tweed, the arch- 
l)lundcrer of that city. 

.JOSEPH J5. :morse 
Is the son of John and P^unice (Willoughby) ]Morse, and 
was born in Haverhill in 1S14. He fitted for college at 



324 HISTOltY OF HAVERHILL. 

Haverhill Academy, and graduated from Dartmouth College 
in iJS^cS, at the age of thirty-four. He taught successfully 
for eighteen years as principal in the Harvard grammar 
school, Cambridge, Mass. Mr. Morse is a Univei'salist 
clergyman, and now resides at Hanover on a farm on ac- 
count of impaired health. 

MOSES ELKIX 

Was born in 1802, received his education at Hampton Acad- 
emy, was very successful as a teacher in New York and Wis- 
consin, and also preached as a Methodist minister. 

D. L. EARNS WORTH 

Is the son of Stephen and Mary Ann (Locke) Farns worth, 
and was born in Haverhill in 183(S. His education was re- 
ceived at East Haverhill. He was always full of energy, 
and went to California in 1858 to seek his fortune in that 
state, a young man of only twenty summers. At first he 
worked on a farm, and then drove a team at the mines. 
Afterwards he went to San Francisco and engaged in the 
milk business, at first with twenty cows and at last with one 
hundred. Changing from this to draying he has become the 
largest drayman in San Francisco, employing over one hun- 
dred horses and sixty men. In 1884 he was elected super- 
visor, and was chairman of the street committee. He mar- 
ried Fannie P. Locke, and they have two children, Silas B. 
and Lottie P. 

CHARLES NELSOX FLANDERS, 

Son of Peter and Mary E. Flanders, was born in 1845. 
He is a graduate from Dartmouth College, 1871, Andover 
Seminary, 1874, was ordained and settled at Westmoreland 
the same year, afterwards acting pastor at Wapping, Conn., 
and is now installed pastor at Newport. He married Emily 
Page of Haverhill, and they have three children. At West- 
moreland and Wapping he was school committee, and is now 



HAVEUHILL AIJKOAD. 325 

a trustee of Kimball Union Academy. ^fr. Flanders has 
been an efficient minister, of thoroughly manly character 
and ability, and has always been most highly esteemed. 

LUCIEX HASKELL FKAKY 

A\'as born in Haverhill in 1830, and is the son of Chai'les S. 
and Abigail (Haskell) Frary. His early education was pur- 
sued at Haverhill Academy, and at the age of fourteen he 
entered the Democratic jRepiiblican office in Haverhill, 
where he remained till he was of age. Fitting for colleo-e 
under private tutors he entered Dartmouth College in 1862, 
and graduated in course. He worked his way through col- 
lege without aid from any source, excejit his own industry 
and energy. After graduating he studied for the ministry at 
Andover Theological Seminary, and graduated from that in- 
stitution in 1869, when he Avas ordained and settled as pas- 
tor of the First Congregationalist church, ]Middleton, Mass., 
where he remained five years, and then became pastor of the 
Congregationalist church, AVaymouth, Mass., continuing 
there over eleven years, when on account of the health of 
his only child, he was compelled to resign, and is now pastor 
of the Congregational church. Sierra Madre, California. 
]Mr. Frary has been singularly successful as a minister, gain- 
ing not only a deep hold upon the churches which he served, 
but also upon the communities in which he lived. On leav- 
ing Weymouth the church made a most complimentary rec- 
ord of their feelings toward him, and also gave expression to 
their deep regard in a handsome pecuniary token. During 
his ministry at Weymouth he received several very flattering 
calls t<j other churches, — First Church, Minneapolis, Minn., 
and College Street church, Burlington, Vt. He has de- 
voted himself entirely to the duties of the church, giving his 
best time and brain, and is a most interesting and effective 
})rcac!u'r, an<l a man of talent. Some years ago he made an 
extensive tour of southern Europe, going as far east as Pales- 



326 HISTORY OF HAVEKHILL. 

tine and Egypt, and wrote his impressions for a local pai)er. 
He also allowed by request several sermons to be published. 
He has a hopeful and sunny heart, is thoroughly true in his 
friendships, and catholic in opinion. He married first, 
Susan E. True of Meriden, who lived only a few years, and 
then Louise Parker of Dunbarton. They have an only child, 
a daughter in frail health. 

WAltUEX D. GOOKIX 

Born in 1810, was the son of Richard and Rebecca (Dem- 
man) Gookin. He was educated at Haverhill Academy and 
Dartmouth College, o-raduatino- from the latter institution in 
1830. The early part of his life was passed in Cuba, where 
he was interested in a sugar plantation. He also devoted 
some time in travel. Finally, he came to New York and 
was extensively engaged as a shipping merchant, in which 
business he gained large success. He died in Brooklyn in 
1874. A scholarship in Dartmouth College, known as the 
"Gookin Scholarship," was founded by him. A daughter 
of Mv. Gookin married Edwin S. Waterman, and lives in 
Brooklyn. 

MICHAEL GKAY 

Was the son of Ebenezer and Ruth (Johnston) Gray. He 
was born in 1789, and received his early education at Hav- 
erhill Academy. He then went to Scotland and graduated 
at Ruthersham Seminary. After graduation he returned for 
a short period to his native place, and then went to England, 
and was settled over a Congregational church in London in 
1813. Of his subsequent history little is known, except 
that he is reputed to have been a very eloquent preacher and 
a man of large influence. 

CALEB S. HUNT 

Was the oldest son of Caleb Hunt. He graduated from 
Dartmouth Colleo:e in 1832. and read law in the office of 



HAVEKHILL A]il{()Al). 827 

Lieut. -Gov. Read of ^Massachusetts, whose daughter he mar- 
ried. For a number of years he lived in New Orleans en- 
gaged in the cotton-gin business, and then coming to Brook- 
lin he carried on tlie manufacture of cotton-gins. 

HORACE HUNT 

Graduated from Dartmouth College in 1<S47, and afterwards 
studied law in Detroit. Soon after his admission to the l»ar 
he relinquished his professional aims and returned to Haver- 
hill and bought the Towle farm. After a short residence in 
Haverhill he Avent to Boston and eno-ao-ed in business. He 
organized the Boston Machine Company, and was also its 
treasurer. He was successful in Ijusiness and amassed a 
large property, but a few years ago he met with some finan- 
cial reverse on account of endorsements. He married An- 
nette Towle of Haverhill. 

PRESCOTT HUXT 

Was educated at Haverhill Academy, and then went to Bos- 
ton in the employ of the Boston Iron Company as a clerk at 
first, and afterwards he became a partner. These works 
were largely engaged during the war in casting immense 
guns and in the manufacture of plates for the iron-clads. 
He was also president of one of the national banks in Bos- 
ton. Like his brother, he endorsed heavily for others, and 
through the financial embarrassment of some of these, he 
met with heavy losses. He has two sons in business in 
Boston. 

HELEX HUXT, 

The youngest daughter of Caleb Hunt, and sister of the 
above, married Hon. Stoddard Colby, a prominent lawyer of 
Montpelier, Vt., who died some years ago, and at one time 
was register of the United States treasury. ]\Irs. Colby 
was a leader in AVashington society, and is a verv accom- 
plished lady. She now lives in New York. They had two 
children. 



328 HISTORY OF HAVEKHILL. 

CHARLES JOHNSTON, 

Son of Capt. Michael Johnston, born 1789, graduated from 
Dartmouth College 1813, studied theology with Rev. Grant 
Powers and Dr. Lyman Beecher, labored as an evangelist in 
Connecticut and New York with Dr. Xettleton, and was 
pastor of a Presbyterian churc]i, Otisco, N. Y. He was a 
man of much force of character. 

HANNAH JOHNSTON, 

Sister of the above, was born in 17iJ3, and received her ed- 
ucation at Haverhill Academy. She Avas married to Rev. 
Silas ^SIcKeen, D. D., in 1821, and of their four children, 
Philena, the oldest, was carefully trained in scholastic studies, 
and also in the fine arts, especially music, and has been suc- 
cessfully engaged in teaching in the Ohio Female College, 
and in the Western Female Seminary, Oxford, O. For many 
years she has been the accomplished principal of Abbott 
Academy for ladies, Andover, Mass. Her sister Catherine, 
was at one time a teacher in Mount Holyoke Ladies Semi- 
nary, Mass., and died in West Virginia. A son, George 
W., was a graduate of Dartmonth College and died in early 
manhood, and is said to have been a young man of much 
promise. The youngest daughter, Phebe Fuller, was asso- 
ciated in teaching with her eldest sister both in Ohio and at 
Andover, and died a few years ago in Baltimore. 

The mother of these children was a woman of rare chris- 
tian character and graces, Avhose "price is far above rubies," 
a devoted wife and mother, wise in speech and discreet in 
action, and a friend of tlie poor and needy. She was super- 
intendent of the first Sabbath school organized in Haverhill 
about IS 18. 

JOHN KIMBALL 

Was the eldest son of John and Mehitabel (Carleton) Kim- 
ball of Haverhill. He pursued his early education at tlav- 
erhill Academy, and graduated from Dartmoutli College in 



HAVERHILL ABKOAD, 329 

1822. He read law and successfully practiced his profession, 
first in Claremont, and then in Putney, Vt., where he lived 
till his death. For several years he represented the latter 
town in the legislature, and was also a state senator from 
Windham county. During* his senatorial service he was 
chosen president of the senate. He was a man of high char- 
acter and influential in the state. 

AVILLTAM H. LEITH 

Was born in Haverhill in 1859, and is a son of George W. 
and Evelina (Frary) Leith. His early education was pur- 
sued at Haverhill and Plymouth, and was completed at 
Braintree, Mass. He began the study of medicine under 
Dr. Samuel P. Carbee of Haverhill, and in 1883 he gradu- 
ated from the medical department of the University of Ver- 
mont amongst the first in his class. After a competitive 
examination for the place of home surgeon to the ^Nlary 
Fletcher Hospital at Burlington, Vt., he was appointed to 
that position which he held for one year, and on leaving he 
was presented with the special thanks of the trustees for 
" professional and fiiithful service.'' He began the practice 
of medicine at Guildhall, Vt., remaining there two years, 
and then moved to Lancaster, where he has met with Matter- 
ing success. Dr. Leith is a young man of ability, a careful 
student in his profession, of pleasing manners and has. a 
large share of professional enthusiasm. If his life is spared 
he can hardly fail of an honorable name in his profession. 

MEUKILL 15ROTHER8 .lOHX L., BENJAMIN AND CHARLES H. 

Children of Dea. Abel K. Merrill. John L. was born in 
1833, and received his early education at Haverhill Academy 
and fitted for college at Kimball Union Academy. He grad- 
uated from Dartmouth College in 185(5, and studied for the 
ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary. His first pas- 
torate was over the Presbyterian church in Chanceford, York 
countv. Pa. Afterwards he settled at Acworth and Marlbo- 



330 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

roug-h, remaining in the latter place about eighteen years, 
and is now the pastor of the Congregational church at 
liindge. He was for a time principal of the high school, 
Lancaster, Pa., after leaving Chanceford. During his min- 
istry at Acworth he wrote the history of that town. Mr. 
Merrill is a man of high character, and a safe and judicious 
counsellor, and has been eminently successful in his profes- 
sion. He married Mary L. Murpliy of Chanceford, Pa., 
and of their tlu'ce children two are living. 

Benjamin, born in 1835, received his early education at 
Haverhill and at Kimball Union Academy, and afterwards 
graduated from the scientific department of Dartmouth Col- 
leo-e in 1858. He studied theologv at Princeton Seminarv, 
and began his ministry as a missionary amongst the miners 
of Barton, and also preached at Piedmont, W. Va. After a 
few years he became pastor of the Congregational church at 
Pembroke. Later, he was settled over the Presbyterian 
church at Ausable Forks, N. Y., and at the present time he 
is ministering to the Congregational church in Swanzey. He 
married Joanna Walker Gildersleeve, and of their three 
children only one is living. INIr. ]Merrill has published sev- 
eral sermons. 

Charles H., born 1845, fitted for college at Kimball 
Union Academy, and is a graduate of Dartmouth College in 
the class of 1867. He pursued his theological studies at 
Andover Theological Seminary, and was first a pastor at 
Mankato, Minn., where he was ordained, and then at AVest 
Brattleboro, Vt., remaining in the latter place for over four- 
teen years, when he was a[)pointed field secretary of the Ver- 
mont Domestic Missionary Society, and is now living in St. 
Johnsbury, Vt. He has published several sermons and ad- 
dresses, is a very scholarly man, and has been a successful 
and esteemed pastor. He married Laura B. ]Merrill, daugh- 
ter of Daniel Merrill of Washington, D. C, and they have 
four children. 



HAVERHILL AHUOAI). 331 

WILLLVM MERHILL. 

Is the youngest son of Capt. Benjamin and Sarah (Haynes) 
jVlerrill, and was born in Haverhill in 1827. He was edu- 
cated at Haverhill Academy, and also attended school at Ply- 
mouth. After teaching for a short time he went to Boston 
as a clerk in a dry goods mercantile house, and a few years 
later he engaged in the cloth and woolen jobbing business in 
Xew York, at first as a clerk and afterwards as a partner, 
and was for some years the foreign buyer of the house. 

]Mr. jNIerrill withdrew from mercantile life and engaged 
in banking and brokage, from which, however, he was com- 
pelled to retire on account of his health. He has lived in 
Brooklyn since 1850, and has taken an active interest in city 
and church matters. He is a member of Rev. Dr. Storr's 
church. His wife was Julia Wri2:ht before her marriaofe, 
daughter of John Wright of Brooklyn, at one time collector 
of the port of Buffalo. 

Mr. Merrill is a gentleman of refined manners and tastes, 
of high character and intelligence, and greatly esteemed by 
all who knew him. He is the generous giver of the Dea. 
Merrill Memorial Chapel, Haverhill. 

AUTIIUK MITCHELL, 

Son of David and Salome (Davis) Mitchell, was born in 
1864. His education was })ursued at Haverhill Academy, 
and he entered Dartmouth College in 1882, but remained 
only one year, when he was compelled to leave on account of 
his eyes. Subsequently he studied medicine in Boston, grad- 
uating from the medical department of Boston University in 
188fi, and is now practicing his profession in Medfield, Mass. 
He is enthusiastic in his work, and has a promising future. 

PEABODY A. MORSE, 

Son of Bryan and Susanna (Stevens) Morse, was born in 
1805, and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1.S3(). 
After leaving colle2;e he went to Fredericksburg, Xa., and 



332 HISTORY OF HAVEKHILL. 

acted as tutor in the family of Judge Brooks of the supreme 
court of Virginia. Meantime, he pursued his legal studies 
under that gentleuian's direction until he was admitted to the 
bar. In 1833 he went to Louisiana, and settled in Natchi- 
toches, where he engaged in the practice of the law for many 
years. For a long period from 1<S38 he was a member of 
the Louisiana Legislature, and served with great usefulness, 
prominence and distinction in that body. In 1843 Gen. 
Morse moved to California, and at once took high and re- 
sponsible position, filling many offices of importance, honor 
and trust, amongst others that of judge of the court of San 
Francisco, and commissioner of the funded debt. In 1854 
he returned to Lousiana with his family and resided there till 
his death in 1878. At the time of his decease the bar of 
Natchitoches took special notice of the event, passing very 
complimentary resolutions, and apj)ointed a delegation to at- 
tend the funeral. Judge Morse married Miss Sampayrac. 
When in college being asked what his father's business was, 
he returned this characteristic answer, — "Now, my friend, 
you've got me. If you had inquired what it was not, I 
could very easily have answered." 

GEORGE AV. 3IOKSE, 

Brother of the above, was born in 1812, and at the time of 
his death was a resident of Washington, D. C, though for 
many years previous he lived in Lousiana. He was edu- 
cated at Haverhill Academy, developing at an early period 
of life wonderful mechanical and inventive skill. At the 
ao^e of eio:hteen he invented a gun with a " masfazine lock," 
by which the gun coidd be fired sixty times without priming. 
He is the real inventor of the "metallic cartridge case'' 
which alone has made breech-loading small arms a success, 
but unfortunately on account of the imperfect manner in 
which his lawyer drew his patent, he lost his claim to being 
the first inventor of the " metallic cartridge."' Mr. Morse, 



HAVERHILL AI5i;OAI). 388 

however, conscious of the great wrong which had been done 
him in being denied priority of invention by which others 
have probably amassed fortunes, brought his chiim before 
Congress and petitioned that body that some compensation 
might be granted him for the use of his invention in the 
arms of the government service. The matter was considered 
in 1(S84, and the committee to whom ]Mr. Morse's claim was 
referred, after giving the matter the most careful considera- 
tion, aided by an expert from the Patent Office and by offi- 
cers in the Ordnance Department, closed the report on the 
matter with the recommendation that the claim be allowed. 
Accordingly, a bill was introduced appropriating $25,000. 
Brig. -Gen. Benet, chief of ordnance to whom the report of 
the committee was referred, uses this language. " In my 
opinion Mr. jNIorse fairly and justly deserves this much at 
the hands of Congress, and I strongly recommend the pas- 
sage of the bill." And this recommendation of the chief of 
ordnance was concurred in by the Secretary of War, Hon. 
Robt. T. Lincoln. The "metallic cartridge " was invented 
in 1856. 

The name of Morse is connected with two of the most im- 
portant inventions that have been given to the world. One 
of these is the electric telegraph Avhich has revolutionized the 
method of transmitting news rapidly from all parts of the 
world, so that in a few hours the nations of the earth can be 
put in comnumication with each other, and the state of com- 
merce and industry and markets of one day may be read at 
our breakfast tables the next day. The other invention is 
the " metallic cartridge case " for breech-loading guns, which 
has created an equal re\'olution in the fire-arms of the world. 
The honor of this last invention belongs to a son of Haver- 
hill, according to the judgment of those who have the best 
means of information, including not only ordnance officers in 
our own army and experts in the Patent Office, but also ac- 
cording to the highest army and naval opinion of Great Brit- 



334 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

ain. " In conversation with officers of all nationalities," 
writes an English officer to ]Mr. ]\Ior8e, " I have always said 
that you are the inventor of the 'metallic cartridge case.'"^ 
Tardy justice has been done Mr. Morse's name, and only a 
])artia] renumeration has been i-endered him for his great in- 
vention in fire-arms. 

Mr. Morse died in 1888 in Washington. 

ISAAC S, MORSE, 

The youngest son of Bryan and Susanna (Stevens) Morse, 
was born in 1817 and received his education at Haverhill 
Academy. When his father moved to Lowell, Mass., in 
1833 to enofaofe in mercantile business, the son entered his 
store as a clerk, but in 1837 he began the study of law in 
Lowell, attended afterwards the law school at Cambridge, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1840. He and Gen. B. F. 
Butler were admitted at the same time, and for many years 
fought the law-battles in Lowell. He was for a time 
city solicitor of Lowell. He married Eloise La Barte and 
they had a family of four children, two of whom, daughters, 
are living. Emma married B. F. Hosped, a paper manu- 
facturer of Holyoke, Mass., George A. was a lawyer and a 
dauo-hter is livins^; with her father. 

Mr. Morse moved to Cambridge in 1861, and has resided 
there ever since. He served in the board of aldermen of 
that city, and also represented it in the legislature. He has 
for many years been a prominent citizen of Massachusetts, 
and has gained a wide reputation as an able and accomplished 
lawyer. His success in his profession would easily satisfy 
any reasonable ambition. Soon after moving to Cambridge 
he was elected district attorney for jNIiddlesex county, and 
continued in that office from 1855 to 1871, an unusually 
long period of service, and which is an honorable tribute to 
his capacity as a lawyer and his fidelity to the trust com- 
mitted to his care. While servinsx in this office it fell to his 



HAVERHILL ABROAD. 385 

lot to conduct the case of the government in the famous Kal- 
hich trial. Mr. Morse was then in his prime, about forty 
years of age, and the trial created great interest not only in 
Massachusetts but in all New England and the country, on 
account of the heinousness of the crime and the prominence 
of the accused. Mr. Morse was at his best during; the Ions: 
contest. A journal of that date, speaking of his conduct of 
the case and his argument to the jury, said, "Every great 
occasion is apt to bring forth great men. Men never display 
all their energies and talents except upon great emergencies, 
and this truth was never more clearly shown than in the case 
of ]\Ir. ^Vlorse, ])rosecuting attorney for the county of ]Mid- 
dlesex. The trial of Mr. Kalloch has had the effect of 
bringing him before the public in a prominent position, and a 
permanency he never would have attained, had he dug for 
years into the ordinary criminal cases under his jurisdiction." 

Mr. ]Morse declining a re-election retired from the office of 
district attorney in 1871, and the members of the Middlesex 
bar with other distinguished gentlemen gave him a compli- 
mentary dinner at Young's Hotel. Amongst those present 
were such prominent persons as Gen. Banks, Dr. George B. 
Loring, Col. Daniel Xeedham and many others. Gen. 
Banks in his remarks on this occasion said that "the district 
attorney was eminently a judicial officer, whose primary duty 
it was not to convict all who were brought before him, but 
to find out whether conviction was deserved. In this resjject 
Mr. Morse had demonstrated in his own career the true dis- 
trict attorney." At the close of the dinner, greatly to the 
surprise of Mr. jMorse, he was [)resented by his friends with 
an elegant service of silver plate. Since then he has de- 
voted himself with industry and fidelity to a large and lucra- 
tive law practice. 

The following anecdote is related in a Boston paper of 
recent date, and illustrates Mr. Morse's quick wit and keen 
mind. Robert ^Morris was a prominent colored lawyer at 



336 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

the Suffolk bar, and on one occasion was defending a colored 
dress-maker who Avas charoed with stealino- silk from her 
customers and substituting for it poorer material. A lady 
witness against the dress-maker testified that she could tell 
the value of silk within twenty-fiAC cents per yard. Mr. 
Morris on cross-examinino' the witness, takino; advantao-e of 
the common o})inion that colored persons are hard to distin- 
guish from white persons, asked the witness if she could 
recognize a colored man who had In'ought a bundle to her. 
' ' No ; I think that colored folks all look pretty much alike 
to me." "Oh, they do, do they?" was lawyer Morris' 
quick reply. " AVe'll see." Then turning to the court 
room, where many interested colored spectators were seated, 
he requested several gentlemen of color to stand, and then 
asked the witness : " Now, look at me and these other gent- 
lemen, and tell the court whether you could tell us apart." 

"I don't see much difference," she replied. " Perhaps by 
studying you all I could, but your heads are all shaped alike 
and except that some are darker than others, I should find it 
difficult to distinguish." 

"•Now, madam," said Mr. Morris with an air of oppressed 
humanity, *' do you mean to swear, after telling the jury that 
you can judge of the value of silk within twenty-five cents a 
yard, that you can't tell the difference between Mr. Johnson 
here and me ? " 

AVithout waiting for the witness to reply, jNIr. ISIorse 
broke in : " She claimed to be a judge of silk, not a judge 
of wool." 

Squire Morris took the retort in the best of humor, but 
nevertheless it broke the force of his cross-examination. 

In 1857 Dartmouth College conferred upon jNIr. Morse 
the honorary degree of Master of Arts. 

ROBERT MORSE, 

A son of Stephen and Sally (Kay) Morse, Avas born in 



HAVEKHILL ABROAD. 337 

Ilaverliill in 1792, and afterwards lived in Rumncy. He 
was the organizer in 1814 of the first permanent stage line 
between Concord and Haverhill, and in the spring of that 
year, he with a party of invited guests, came over the route 
in the first stage. Subsequently, he became noted as one of 
the great stage proprietors and mail carriers Ijctwecn Concord 
and Haverhill, and he was also intei'ested in other lines. 
He was a man of great force and energy in pushing enter- 
prises. 

JOSEPH B. MORSE, 

Son of John and Eunice (Willoughby) Morse, was born in 
Haverhill in 1814. He fitted for college at Haverhill Acad- 
emy, and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1848, at the 
age of thirty-four. He was principal of Howard Grammer 
School in Charlestown, Mass., for eighteen years. Mr. 
Morse is a Universalist minister, but in later years, on ac- 
count of impaired health, he has lived in Hanover on a farm. 
He married Sarah M. Ripley. 

THOMAS LEVERETT NELSOX, 

The oldest son of John and Lois (Leverett) Nelson, was 
born in Haverhill. He entered Dartmouth College in 1842, 
and graduated from the University of Burlington in 1846. 
After his admission to the bar he began the practice of law 
in Worcester, INIass., and soon rose to be one of the leading- 
members of the Worcester county bar. He is now United 
States Circuit Judge, and lives in Worcester, Mass. Judge 
Nelson is a man of ability and a learned jurist. 

ALOXZO F. NILES 

Is the oldest son of Joseph B. Niles, and received his educa- 
tion at Haverhill Academy. His first start in life was as 
cook on a raft to Hartford, and then he went to Springfield, 
Mass., where he has been in business for nearly forty years. 
He is the founder of the Avell-known wholesale and retail 



338 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

house of that city, first for twenty years under the name of 
A. F. Niles, and afterwards A. F. Niles & Son. They are 
dealers in groceries, fish, provisions and fruit, and have also 
a meat market connected with their establishment which is 
one of the best equipped in the city, and their business is one 
of the largest in their line in S})ringfield. In a volume, 
"Massachusetts Industries," the firm is thus spoken of: 
" The founder of this wide-awake house, Mr. A. F. Niles, 
is a native of New Hampshire, and a gentleman possessing 
the most commendable business characteristics, being enter- 
prising, energetic, industrious, liberal in methods and the 
soul of integrity. His son, Mr. O. W. Niles, was born in 
Springfield, and is now in his twenty-ninth year. He is a 
young man of exceptional busmess capacity, prompt and re- 
liable, pushing, popular and praiseworthy, and commands 
hosts of friends. There is no business house here more 
popular or more deserving of its success, and the host of 
patrons who have entered into business relations with it is 
increasing." 

Mr. Niles married a sister of Dr. Wetherbee of North 
Haverhill, and they have three children. He is a deacon in 
the Memorial church, Springfield, and a prominent citizen of 
of that city. He is intelligent, genial, and devoted to his 
family. 

HORACE L. NILES, 

Brother of the above, also lives in Springfield and was for 
many years in business with Alonzo F. He served in the 
war, and was taken prisoner at Ball's Bluff, being confined 
in Libby prison three months. For several years he lived in 
Nebraska, and carried on farmins;. He is now enijao-ed in 
mercantile business in Springfield. 

GEORGE B. NICHOLS, 

The son of Jonathan S. and' Myra (Montgomery) Nichols, 
was born in Haverhill. He was educated at Haverhill and 



HAVERHILL AHROAD. 339 

Kimball Union Academies, and graduated from Dartmouth 
College in 1864, Since leaving college he has been engaged 
in teaching at Webster, Nantucket and Somerville, Mass., 
in whicli profession he has gained praiseworthy success. 

NELLIE P. NICHOLS, 

Sister of the above, received her education in Haverhill 
Academy and at Mt. Holyoke Seminary. She has been a 
successful teacher since graduation. 

CLARA I. NICHOLS, 

Daughter of Jonathan S. and Elizabeth (Page) Nichols, 
was educated at Haverhill Academy and at State Normal 
School, Plymouth. She has devoted herself to music, and 
has gained much success in that profession. She has recently 
married John Donovan, a civil engineer of talent and enter- 
jH'ise. 

PERSON NOYES 

Was born in 1827. His father was the only son of Timothy 
Noyes. At the age of eighteen he went to Lowell, Avhere 
he has since resided. For a while he worked in the mills, 
and tlien for fourteen years he was in the furniture business, 
and since then he has been the head of the Noyes jNIanufac- 
turing Co., makers of mill and railroad specialties. He 
married Adelaide Closson of Lyme, and of three children, 
the daughter is a teacher in Hartford, Conn., two sons are 
at home, and one in Pennsylvania. Mr. Noyes modestly 
says he has been " fairly successful." 

.JOHN A. PAGE 

Is the second son of Gov. John and Hannah (Merrill) Page, 
and was born in Haverhill in 1814. He received his educa- 
tion at Haverhill Academy, and served for a short time as a 
clerk in a store in Portland, Me. Returning to Haverhill, 
he engaged in mercantile business at the Brook, and con- 
tinued to do so, until at the resignation of Mr. Bunce he was 



340 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

chosen cashier of Grafton County Bank. Afterwards he 
became cashier of the bank of Danville, Vt., and continued 
in that position for some years, when he was called to be 
superintendent of the Passumpsic railroad. Later he was 
chosen cashier of a bank in Montpelier, Vt., and has lived 
there to the present time. He is now largely retired from 
active business, but continues as president of the National 
Bank of Montpelier. Mr. Page was state treasurer of Ver- 
mont for sixteen years in succession, and proved an able and 
faithful public officer. He has addressed himself to business 
from tlie first with diligence, prudence and good judgment, 
and has accumulated a handsome fortune. He has been one 
of the leading and influential citizens of Vermont, and is 
held in high esteem by his fellow citizens. ]Mr. Page mar- 
ried iVIartha Ward of Haverhill, and their only child, a son, 
is engaged in stock-raising in the west. 

MOSES S. PAGE 

Was born in 1838, and is the youngest son of Samuel and 
Eliza (Swasey) Page of Haverhill. His education was 
acquired in the common schools until he was old enough to 
attend school away from home, when he was sent to St. 
Johnsbury Academy, Vt, and also to the seminary at New- 
bury, Vt. At the close of his school years he entered the 
jewelry store of Henry Towle of Haverhill, as an apprentice 
in that business, and remained there a little over two years. 
Afterwards he went to Boston and got a situation with a 
jewelry firm there, and though he began at the low wages of 
four dollars })er week, he soon had his wages advanced on 
account of his industry and strict attention to business. 
Later he was offered a place in the management of a loan 
office, but was somewhat in doubt as to his ability to make 
an honest living. Being assured, however, that he was at 
liberty to manage the business to suit himself, he entered 
upon its duties. After a few years he in company with 
another person bought out his employer, and they continued 



HAVElilllLL ABROAD. 341 

the loan business for eleven years at the old stand on Salem 
street, Avhen ]Mr. Page assumed the entire ownership and 
control of the concern, and has remained in the business at 
the same place till the present time. Near the close of the 
War of the Rebellion he served one hundred days in the <)th 
Keg. ]Mass. Vol. 

Mr. Page has gained much success in business and has 
been a careful and wise financier. He is largely interested 
in real estate in ]Melrose, and also is a stockholder in the 
Farmers Trust and Loan Company of Anthony, Kansas, of 
which he is the vice-president. He is a man of intelligence 
and close observation, and has travelled extensively both at 
home and abroad. AVhere he resides he has always taken 
an active and praiseworthy interest in all matters pertaining 
to the public, and is a public-spirited and enterprising citi- 
zen. He is prominent in church and })hilanthropic matters, 
and is a deacon in the Congregational church of Melrose. 
Mr. Page married in 1869 Harriet E. Hibbard of Concord, 
Vt., and has a familv of two children livinfj, havino- lost a 
son a iew years ago by a tragic death. 

JAMES HENRY I'EARSOX 

Was born in Haverhill in 1820, and is a son of Maj. Isaac 
and Charlotte (Atherton) Pearson. He received his educa- 
tion at Haverhill Academy, and afterwards was engaged with 
his father in the manufacture of lumber. In 1851 he moved 
to Chicago and cast in his life and fortunes with that young 
and growing city where he still resides. ]\Ir. Pearson has 
been very successful as a lumber merchant, inheriting Ijoth 
his father's and grandfather's genius in that line of trade, and 
is one of the prominent business men of that city. Besides 
his large yards at Chicago, he has extensive mills and lum- 
ber tracts at Saginaw, Mich. He is also connected with 
bankinij institutions both in Chicago and in Saginaw. And 
though a very busy man, he has always taken a very deep 



342 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

interest in the moral and relirjious welfare of Chicago, aiv- 
ing freely of his time and means for the advancement of all 
that is good and worthy for society. He is a man of great 
excellence of character, full of kindness and good will, and 
of a genial spirit. He married Sarah Elizabeth With- 
erell, and they have a family of four children. His only 
dauglitcr is married to Prof. Scott of the Chicaa^o Theoloa'i- 
cal Seminary and lives in that city. Two sons are in busi- 
ness with their father, one in Chicago, the other at Saginaw, 
and the remaining son is in Paris pursuing art-studies. ]Mr. 
Pearson is a worthy representative of the sturdy, energetic 
and noble New England stock. 

SAMUEL 1'. riKE 

Was born in Haverhill, 1854, son of John D. and Jane 
(Poor) Pike. His early advantages were limited, and his 
education was obtained in the district school in winter, whilst 
in sunnner, from the age of ten to eighteen, he worked on a 
farm. At the latter period he went to Tilton on a milk 
farm for one year, and then at Lowell, jNIass., where he 
drove a milk waoon. Later, he bouo-ht the route and ran it 
for one or two years, when he engaged in the provision busi- 
ness which he still continues. Air. Pike has been a most 
successful man, and does a very extensive business, not only 
in Lowell, but also has a branch store in Manchester, selling 
in both places $250,000 worth of goods. He married Jean- 
nette W. Hart and they have five children. His residence 
is on a fine farm four miles from Lowell, at Wamesit, 
Tewksbury. He is public-spirited, full of energy, and 
greatly esteemed where he lives. 

POWERS ELIZABETH ABBOTT, MARY AVEBSTER, HENRI- 
ETTA MUMFORD, AND GEORGE CARRIXGTON, 

AVere children of Rev. Grant and Eliza Howard (Hopkins) 
Powers. All are filling or have filled important positions. 
Elizabeth A. became the wife of Joseph D. Foot of Amboy, 



HAVERHILL AIHtOAI). 343 

N. J. Afterwards, she moved to Buffalo, X.. Y., and was 
principal for twenty-four years of a ladies seminary. She 
now resides in j\ irginia. Mary W. married Tracy Kobin- 
son of Panama, and now resides there. Henrietta ]\1. mar- 
ried Rev. John Kelley of Patterson, X. J., and now lives in 
AVashing'ton, D. C. George C is a wholesale grocer in 
Boston, Mass. 

JOHX KEDIXG 

Is the son of Silvester and Pollen D. (^NlcClarv) IJeding. 
He received his earlier education at Ha\erhill Academy, 
after which he serNcd as a clerk for one year in Went- 
worth and Bradford, Vt. He then entered the Commercial 
College at Poughkeepsie, X^. Y., and pursued a commercial 
course of study. He commenced Inisiness life in Boston, 
and is now a member of the firm of Moore, Smith & Co., 
one of the oldest Boston houses. Mr. Reding is a courte- 
ous and agreeable gentleman. He married Laura C. Wol- 
cott of Quechee, Vt. 

KODGEK8 BKOTHERS LEVI AXD M. CAKLETOX, 

Both children of Levi and ]\Iehitabel B. (Carleton) Rodgers. 
The former was born in Guildhall, At., in 184o, and at the 
age of nine came with his mother to live in Haverhill. He 
fitted for college at Haverhill and Kimball L^nion Academies, 
entered Dartmouth College in 1862, graduated in course, 
and for several years after was principal of a granunar school 
in Cleveland, O. He studied theology at Andover, gradu- 
ating in 1(S71, and became pastor of the Conu'rcirational 
church, Claremont, where he remained nine years as a suc- 
cessful pastor. He was then settled in Georgetown, Mass., 
the successor of Rev. Charles Beecher, and is now there. 
He married Ellen S. Dimick of Quechee, Vt., a woman of 
superior worth and accomplishment. She died in 1883. 
Mr. Rodgers has been successful as teaclier and pastor. 
M. Carleton was born in 1847, fitted for coIIcltc at Kim- 



344 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

ball Union Academy, and graduated tVoni Dartmouth Col- 
lege in 1871. He taught in Tingloro, AValpole and Xew 
Bedford, Mass., remaining in the latter place nine years and 
then moved to Virf^^inia and enijao^ed in farming for several 
years. He is now in business in Bridgeport, Conn. He 
married Laura J. Chamberlain of jMcIndoes Falls, Vt. 

JONATHAN H. ROWELL's 

Parents were Jonathan B. and Cynthia (Abbott) Rowell, 
and he was born in 1833, their second son. He left Haver- 
hill with his father in 184(3, at the ao^e of thirteen, and has 
lived in McLean county. 111. Losing their father a year 
after he moved west, the family having to care for itself, as 
Mr. Rowell had met with financial reverses before leaving 
Haverhill. Jonathan H. taught school and worked on the 
farm till he was twenty-one years old, when he entered 
Eureka (111.) College, of which he is a graduate. After 
graduation he was professor in mathematics in his Alma 
Mater till the AVar of the Rebellion broke out, when he en- 
listed in the 17th 111. Infantry and seiwed three years as 
lieutenant and captain, and took part in the principal battles 
fought by the "Army of the Tennessee," which was Gen. 
Grant's original command. At the close of the war Capt. 
Rowell entered the law school of the luiiversity of Chicago, 
and graduated from that institution in 18(i.5. Since then he 
has practised his profession in Bloomington, 111. He was 
first state's attorney of his district four years, and served six 
years on the board of education of Bloomington. Two years 
he was a master in chancery for that county. In 1882 he 
was chosen to Congress, and has held his seat since that 
time. He was a Garfield and Arthur elector in 1880, and 
has taken an active and prominent part in all the political 
campaigns since the close of the war, and is one of the lead- 
ing men of the state in the councils of his party. In Con- 
gress he has actively engaged in all the more im])ortant meas- 



HAVERHILL ABROAD. 345 

ures of legislation before that body, and has served on the 
committee of war claims, District of Columbia, and elections. 
He represents the most wealthy district of the state outside 
of Cook county which includes the city of Chicago. 

Capt. Kowell is an able and 'successful lawyer, well known 
not only in his own district, but throughout the state. His 
record both in civil and military life is most honorable and 
successful. His wife is a native of Illinois, but her parents 
were from Xew England, and of their children, a son and 
daughter are graduates of the university of Michigan. 

CHESTER ROWELL, 

Brother of the above, is a distinguished physician in Fresno, 
California, and has also taken an active and prominent part 
in politics. 

HORACE O. SOPER 

Was a graduate of Dartmouth College in 1825 and belonged 
to the Soper fomily of Haverhill. He lived in New York 
and Avas a lawyer. In 18-47 he was appointed a county 
judge and continued in that position till 1851. 

LYMAN D. STEVENS 

Is the son of Caleb and Salley (Dewey) Stevens, and was 
born in Piermont in 1821, meeting with an accident in boy- 
hood, which disabled him for manual labor, he was trained 
for a professional life. He received his early education at 
Haverhill Academy, and afterwards entered Dartmouth C^)l- 
lege, from which he graduated in the class of 1848. After 
leaving college he taught the academy at Stanstead, Canada, 
for two years, and in the mcjuitime he pursued the study of 
law under the direction of E. C. Johnson, Esq., of Derby 
Line, Vt. In the fall of 1845 he went to Concord and con- 
tinued his professional studies with the late Chief-Justice 
Perley, and was admitted to the jNIerrimac county bar in 
1847. He at once opened an office in Concord and began 
the practice of liis profession in that city, and continued to 



346 HISTORY or haverhill. 

do so until 1880, when he retired from professional life and 
surrendered his business to his son. 

Mr. Stevens has been married twice, first to Achsah Pol- 
lard French of Concord, and his second wife's maiden name 
was Frances Childs Brownell of New Bedford, Mass. There 
are two children by each marriage. Henry Webster, the 
oldest son, is a rising young lawyer in Concord. 

Mr. Stevens at the time of his retirement, was one of the 
prominent members of the Merrimac county l)ar, and had 
gained large success, both in his profession and in other busi- 
ness, and retired with an am})le fortune and an honorable 
career. During the years of his more active life he was fre- 
quently called to positions of honor and trust. He Avas ap- 
pointed by Governor Gilmore to settle the war claims of 
New Hampshire against the general government arising 
j^revious to 1863, and represented with two others as com- 
missioners the state at the dedication of tlie national ceme- 
tery at Gettysburg in 1863. For four years he was a repre- 
sentative in the legislature from the city of Concord, and 
twice he was elected mayor of that city. In 1872 he was a 
presidential elector when President Grant was re-elected. 
Afterwards, 1880-1 he served for two years as a member of 
the executive council, and was chosen a state senator in 1884. 

Mr. Stevens has also been intimately connected with busi- 
ness and money interests, having been president of the Mer- 
rimac County Savings Bank from its organization, and a 
director in the National State Capitol Bank since 1865. In 
addition to these he has been called to otlier positions of trust 
and responsibility. He served many years as a trustee of 
Boscawen and Kimball Union Academies, and since 1881 he 
has also been a trustee of the New Hampshire College of 
Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. In religious and benevolent 
matters he has taken an active and prominent part. He has 
been vice president of the New Hampshire Home Missionary 
society, and since 1871 its careful and trustworthy treasurer. 



HAVERHILL ABKOAD. 347 

He is also treasurer of the Ministers and Widows Charitable 
Fund. Mr. Stevens is connected with the South Con"frenja- 
tional church and society, and is one of" its most efficient 
useful members, and is a man of high character and integ- 
rity. He is a warm and steadfast friend, and a most cordial 
and courteous gentleman. 

SMITH BlJOTHERy — LYNDOX ARNOLD, STEPHEN SANFORD, 
AND CARLOS, 

Were sons of Rev. Ethan and Bathsheba (Sanford) Smith, 
and were l)orn in Haverhill near the close of the last century. 
Lyndon Arnold was fitted for college at Hanover Academy, 
and graduated from Dartmouth College in I.'^IT. He mar- 
ried a daughter of President (iriffin of Williams College, 
iind gained a prominence in his profession as a skillful l)hysi- 
cian in Newark, N. J. 

Stephen Sanford Smith was a minister of large usefulness, 
and was pastor of a church in Chicago during his last years. 

Carlos Smith was a graduate of Union College, a success- 
ful minister, and was honored with the title of D. D. 

FRANK A. SMITH 

Was born in Haverhill in 1855, son of Henry and Sarah M. 
(Pike) Smith. At the age of sixteen he engaged as a clerk 
in a store in Biddeford, Me., where he remained five years ; 
the last year a partner in the house. Afterwards, he was a 
merchant at Woodsville, in the firm of Cutting & Smith, but 
in a year or two he began a course of study at New Hamp- 
ton, and at the close of his academic course, he read medi- 
cine with Dr. D. W. Hazeltine of Sprhigfield, Vt. He at- 
tended one course of lectures at Burlington, Vt., and two 
courses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New 
York City, graduating from the latter place in 1884. He 
began the ]>ractice of his profession at Heading, Vt., where 
he still continues, and in the few years of his professional 
life he has met with nuich success and is in possession of a 



348 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

steadily growing' business. Dr. Smith is a risin"; man. He 
married Martha Alice Warren, a native of Haverhill, and 
daufjliter of Charles P. Warren. 

WILLIAM PAGE STOWE 

Is the son of Joseph and Priscilla (Page) Stowe, and was 
born near Sugar Loaf, East Haverhill, in 1831. The 
Stowes are of Puritan stock. Dr. Stowe left Haverhill with 
his parents when quite young, and went to Wisconsin, then 
an almost unbroken wilderness. He pursued his academic 
education at Lawrence University, from which he graduated 
in 1858, and entered the ministry of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, filling several of the most important pulpits of 
the Conference, and was presiding elder for eight years of 
the Milwaukee district. He was chosen in 1880 by the gen- 
eral conference agent of the AVestcrn Methodist Book Con- 
cern, which position he now holds. He has been a member 
of the last three general conferences, and also of the Centen- 
nial Conference. In 1884 he received the honoary degree of 
D. D. During the Rebellion he was chaplain of 27th Reg. 
Wis. Vol. He married Grace H. Bond of Buifalo, N. Y., 
and they have three children, Hester P., a graduate of Buf- 
fxlo Female College, and now connected with a German 
Kindergarten in Berlin, Germany ; Bond, a student in 
Chicago Medical College and a graduate of Northwestern 
University, and Will C. , a member now of the same univer- 
sity. Dr. Stowe is a man of ability and much force of char- 
acter, and has won an honorable place. 

TARLETONS. 

The following are children and grand-children of CoL 
William Tarleton : 

JOSIAII BRADLEY 

Lived in Chillicothe, Ohio, Avas high slierifF of the county 
and an associate judge, and was successful in business. 



HAVERHILL ABROAD. 349 

GEORGE W. 

Lived ill Concord for a time after the death of his father, 
and then went to ^Mobile, Ala., and became ^ery weakhy. 

THOMAS J. 
Also lived in jNIobile, and was a man of very supreme ability 
and excellence. 

ALBERT 

Was engaged at one time in the iron business at Krysville, 
N. Y., and died in Alabama. 

JAMES M. 
Was a merchant in Alabama, a warm personal friend of the 
late Ex-President Pierce, by whom he was appointed consul 
to Australia. 

HORACE, 

A grandson of Col. Tarleton, and son of Amos, went South 
and was there during the early part of the war. He mar- 
ried a Miss Barstow of Piermont. He now lives in Brook- 
lyn, New York, and is engaged in the business of compres- 
sing cotton. 

AMOS TARLETOX, 

Brother of Horace, is the only son ot the second generation. 
except Henry, that now lives in this section of country. He 
was educated at Haverhill Academy, and then went to Bos- 
ton as clerk in a store. Health failing him, he was advised 
to spend some time at the sea-shore at Shirley Point. He 
remained there several years in a hotel, meantime getting an 
idea of that business, and soon after became the proprietor 
of the Ocean House, Chelsea Beach, which he kept for 
thirty-one years with very great success, enlarging the house 
to its present size. He retired from the business in 1880. 
He now resides in Haverhill in the Col. Johnston i)lace, 
which he has fitted up in convenient and attractive style. 
Mr. Tarleton is a gentleman of intelligence arid wide expe- 
rience, and large acquaintanceship with men and things, of 



350 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

gentle manners and an agreeable companion. He has never 
married. 

TOWLES FREDERICK AND JAMES. 

The former was the son of Col. Simon and Susan (Hall) 
Towle, and spent the larger part of his life in Tallahassee, 
Fla. , where he carried on successfully the business of a jew- 
eler. He died in Xew York in 1857. 

James H. is the second son of Henry and Susan (Pierce) 
Towle. His father was a jeweler, and carried on that busi- 
ness in Haverhill for many years. James H. was a clerk in 
his father's store. Afterwards he went to New York, and 
engaged in the same business, and for a number of years he 
was a member of the firm of Fellows & Co,, Maiden Lane, 
N. Y. He retired from active business a few years ago. 
He married Mary G., daughter of Dr. Spalding of Haver- 
hill, and they have one child, a daughter. Mr. Towle is a 
o-enial and social gentleman. 

NATHANIEL WILSON 

Was born in Haverhill in 1808, and is the youngest son of 
Nathaniel and Sarah (Pearson) Wilson. He fitted for col- 
lege at Haverhill Academy, and graduated from Dartmouth 
College in 1829. After leaving college he taught the acad- 
emy at Lancaster for two years, and was a popular and suc- 
cessful teacher. He was also at the head of the Hig-h school 
in Augusta, Me., for one year. After the close of his ser- 
vice as teacher he began the study of the law with Hon. 
George Evans of Gardiner, Me. He was also for a short 
time in Mr. Bell's office before he taught at Lancaster. In 
1834 he was admitted to the bar in Kennebec county. Me., 
and immediately began the practice of his profession at 
Orono, Me., where he has continued to live till the present 
time. He married Sarah H. Boardman of Lancaster, a 
most accomplished and beautiful woman, who died two years 
after their marriage. Afterwards, he married Abbie Ann 



HAVERHILL ABROAD. 351 

Colburn of Orono, and of their children the oldest son served 
in the War of the Rebellion in the expedition against New 
Orleans. Two are graduates of Bowdoin College, one a 
successful lawyer at Orono, and the other a popular and tal- 
ented Congfreffational minister in Mass. He has also a son 
who is a physician, and two who are enterprising business 
men. One of the daughters is the wife of Prof. Jordon of 
Orono, and another lives in Kansas, where her husband is a 
rising lawyer. 

Mr. Wilson has been prominently identified with all the 
leading interests of his adopted home, taking a leading part 
in all matters for the moral and religious upbuilding of the 
community. For thirty years he served on the school board 
of Orono, and was largely instrumental in securing the loca- 
tion in that place of the State College of Agriculture and 
the Mechanic Arts, and was also for a time in its board of 
ti'ustees. He has held at diflferent times most of the various 
town offices, and whilst a member of the legislature, where 
he served with honor, he was a member of the judiciary 
committee, and made a very able speech in favor of a bill to 
increase the salaries of the supreme court judges, which 
placed him amongst the ablest and most influential members 
of that body. He has taken a deep interest in temperance, 
and at one time Avas Grand Worthy Patriarch of the order 
of Sons of Temperance. As a lawyer, he has been highly 
successful and trusted, and has done a large business, win- 
ning a full share of closely contested cases. In politics ]Mr. 
Wilson was originally a Henry Clay Whig, but when that 
party went to pieces he became a national Democrat, and 
was an earnest advocate of Gov. Tilden for the presidency. 
In religious sentiment he is a Congregationalist. He is now 
in his eightieth year, and with the cxce})tion of his hearing 
he enjoys excellent health, and still retains a lively interest 
in his native town. He feels a just pride in his children. 



352 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

EDWARD B. WILSON 

Is the youngest son of Isaac P. and Rhoda (Brainard) Wil- 
son, and was born in Haverhill in 1840. His wife was 
Luella E. Woodward of Haverhill. He received his edu- 
cation at the common schools and Haverhill Academy. Pre- 
vious to attending school at the Academy he was a clei'k at 
North Haverhill for one year and also a clei-k in the post- 
office at Haverhill for two years. After leaving the Acad- 
emy he was for two years in the registry of deeds office 
under Mr. Augustus Whitney, and then at the age of nine- 
teen he went to Boston, and for six years he was in the em- 
ploy of Houghton, Sawyer & Co. When the house of 
Morse, Shepard & Co. started he entered their employ, and 
rose to be a partner in the firm of Morse & Shepard, and is 
now at the head of the firm of Wilson, Lanaler 6c Co., in 
the wholesale dry goods business. Mr. Wilson is an active, 
energetic man, and has won honorable success in life. He 
lives in Newbury, Mass. 

WILLIAM FREDERICK WHITCHER 

Is the son of Ira and Lucy (Roger) Whitcher, and was 
born in Benton in 1845. He received his early academic 
education at Tilton Seminary, and graduated from Middle- 
town, Conn. He at first entered the ministry, but after- 
wards devoted himself to journalism, and is now editor-in- 
chief of the Boston Evening Traveller. 

HARVEY B. AVILMOT's 

Father came to Haverhill in the early part of the present 
century. Haran Wilmot is a brother and Frank L. a 
nephew. Harvey has been a very successful business man 
in the clothing trade in Boston. 

JOHX L. WOODS, 

The only son of John L. and Mary Ann (Swasey) Woods, 
was born at Woods ville. He went A¥est quite early in life, 



HAVERHILL ABROAD. 353 

and when the War of the Rebellion broke out, he became 
Quarter-Master in the army. At the close of the war he 
Avas put in charge of government property, to dispose of it. 
Before the war he was in the railroad business at St. Louis. 
He is now in the service of the Pullman Car Company, and 
resides at Pullman, 111. 

FRANKLIX p. WOOD 

Was born in Enfield, lb 44, but came early to Haverhill. 
He fitted for college at Kimball Union Academy, and grad- 
uated from Dartmouth College in 1868. For a time after 
graduation he was a teacher in Kimball Union Academy, 
and then spent two years in Union Seminary, New York, 
and finished his theological studies at Andover, JSIass. He 
married Abby O. Drew of Waterbury, Vt., and they have 
four children. He was pastor of the Congregational church, 
Acton, Mass., from 1871—84, and now resides there. He 
has been a successful pastor. 



CHAPTER XX. 

DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL LIFE. 

Time-Changes — Life Simple — Two Classes come to Haverhill, the Well-to-do and 
Enterprising, and the Dependent— The first House— Frame Houses, two sizes — 
The great Fire-place and Chimney — The Children and " Popped Corn" — •' Lug 
Pole " — " Trammels " — Crane — Frying-pan — Dutch Oven —Spit— " The Goose 
Hangs High" — Furniture — Pots and Kettles — The Dresser— Pewter Dishes — 
Wooden Dishes — Two-tined Forks — Hemlock Brooms — Sanded Floors— Car- 
pets Rare — Domestic Duties — Wants Few — Life Happy and Virtuous— Diet — 
Tea and Coffee — Drinks— Flip and Punch — Wine— Drinking Social — Sugar 
Making — Paring-bee — Games — Huskings — Muster-day — Social Character of 
Church-going — Society People — (Jfficial Position and Moral Worth — The Com- 
mencement of New Order — Rebellion against forced payment of Ministers' 
Taxes — Church-Going less Universal — The Stage-coach— Blinds, Pictures 
and Ornaments — Wooden Plates, Sanded Floors, antl Hemlock Brooms Yield — 
First Four-wheeled Carriage — First Piano — Chaises — Wagons — Clocks. 

A century and a quarter makes great changes in the 
domestic and social habits of a people. In intervals of a 
few years we hardly notice such changes, but after a consid- 
erable lapse of time the difference between the Xow and the 
Then is very marked. Our fore-fathers would be surprised 
indeed, were they to come back and see things as they are, 
in comparison with things as they were, and we were to be 
transferred to their modes of living, would be equally sur- 
prised. Life in those earlier days was simple. The range 
of experience was much narrower than it is now, and the 
means and facilities of life were far fewer and less varied. 
What was luxury then, is only comfort now, and the luxu- 
ries of to-day was not even a dream to our hardy ancestors, 
whilst the poverty and denials of those times would be con- 
sidered unendurable now. 

Two classes of people came to Haverhill, as they came to 
all other frontier abodes, those of means and enterprise, and 
those who had little of these. The former were men and 
women of large ability and force of character, who were 
leaders where they came from, and were willing to found 
new homes and enlarge their opportunities and fortunes. Of 



DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL LIFE, vi55 

this class, Haverhill had more than her full share, as here 
was the garden of the Northern Connecticut valley, with its 
hopefulness and prosperity inviting to enterprise. The 
other class was much the more numerous, and being without 
means and without much energy and thrift, they were de- 
pendent and with little influence in the new settlement. 
They were the " hewers of wood and the drawers of water." 
When the Revolutionary struggle came on, they were the 
first to take alarm and to desire safety and shelter away from 
danger. They had no great interests to fight for here, and 
consequently they were easily tempted to hasten back to their 
original homes. Some did go back, and others were pre- 
vented from going by the commanding influence of the leaders 
of the settlement and the prompt measures which they took 
in furnishing arms to the dependent class. 

The earliest settlers, even those that possessed property 
and had the enjoyments of refined life in their former homes, 
built and lived in log houses the first years of their Cohos 
life. These of course wei'e small, with conveniences and 
comforts the most primitive, but in the case of the well-to-do 
they were only temporary, to be displaced by the earlier 
farm houses which began to be built about 1773. These 
were of two sizes, the half house about twenty-five feet 
sffuare, small and low, some of which are still standing, and 
the double house, twenty-five feet one way and forty feet the 
other. The former satisfied the aims of the unamlntious, 
whilst the latter were an indication of thrift and progress in 
worldly attainments. This latter house is still to be met 
with, either in its original form, or somewhat modified in 
the course of improvement, with two rooms front and a 
large room back of these, used chiefly as the living-room, and 
a small bed-room oft' from this main room. The old Col. 
Johnston house is of this style. Shutters or blinds were un- 
known in the earlier days, and the windows and wiiulow- 
ii'lass of a Q-reenish shade were small. 



356 History of haverhill. 

From the family room was built an immense chimney with 
fire-place large enough to receive huge logs, and sufficiently 
roomy to accommodate the whole family of children, who in 
the long: winter evenings were seated on wood blocks at 
either end of the fire-place. The large stick back was called 
the "back-log," from three to six feet long sometimes, and 
would last several days. On this was placed a "top-stick," 
and in front the "fore-stick." Between these were the bed 
of coals and the fire wood. Much of the heat went up the 
immense chimney, but the mass of burning wood and coals 
and the heated bricks furnished generous warmth for the in- 
mates. The ample flue carried off the dense volume of 
smoke that arose from the blazing fire, whilst the stars on 
clear nights could be seen by the prattling children in the 
chimney corner. Many were the good times they had in the 
olden fire-place, roasting green corn in the husk on chill and 
lowry days, crunching apples in the long fall and winter 
evenings, and popping corn in the ashes.* Back of the 
fire-place was the old brick oven, and in one corner of the 
chimney hung the dim Roman oil lamp with its bird-like 
beak. 

The chimney place served another purpose as well as for 
warming and amusement. Here the meals were prepared. 
Over head was the "lug-pole," as it was called, made of a 
green stick of wood, and placed far enough above the fire so 
as not to become ignited by the heat and flames. From this 
pole hung the " trammels." These were long straight pieces 
of iron punched with holes into which the "pot-hooks" were 
set, so tliat the pot or kettle could be lowered or raised at 
pleasure. The "crane" was a later contrivance and served 
the same purpose as the " trammels" and "pot-hooks." The 



* The hot ashes were drawn out aud little wells or trenches made, 
and then a handful of corn was thrown into these and quickly covered 
up. In a few moments the corn would pop out into the fire-place or 
room. 



DO-AIESTIC AND SOCIAL LIFE. 857 

frying-pan was set directly on the coals which the good 
house-wife drew out from the back-log, or it had long legs 
which straddled the embers, and was easily shifted by the 
long handle. There were also in use the "Dutch oven" and 
the "spit" for roasting meats. The "Dutch oven" was 
made of iron, shaped something like a deep covered dish, 
and had short les^s. The cover with ^nard around the rim 
was filled with live coals, so as to aid the cooking by heating 
from above. The "s])it" was a tin oven with dripping-pan, 
on which the meat or food was placed, shaped like a fire- 
blower, and was open on the fire side. On the side from 
the fire it had a door, through which the meat was turned 
on the "spit." Another way of roasting was by suspend- 
ing the fowl from a ])oint in the chimney by a string, and 
giving the fowl a rotary motion so as to bring each part to 
the heat. This is said to have been an epicurian mode of 
cooking the goose. 

Fire was kept over night by covering up the embers with 
ashes. Sometimes when it went out a few coals or a brand 
were borrowed from a near neighbor. But our fore-fathers 
could always "strike fire" with the steel-ring, fiint and 
tinder. * 

The houses were fitted up with furniture made of wood 
from the neighboring forests. Pots and kettles were of iron, 
copper and tin. In the kitchen was the "dresser," a sort of 
open cupboard, containing the pewter dishes, which in all 
well-regulated families were highly polished, and the mugs 
and knives and forks. In the houses of the poor, wooden 
dishes were foimd instead of the pewter. Three-pronged 
forks were unknown. Hemlock brooms were in conuuon 
use, and the flo(,^rs were sj)rinkled with clean white sand. 



* The tinder was a soft, dry, spongy substance called "punk." 
found in wood. It was shaved in thin slices and laid on the flint, and 
then when the latter was struck with the steel tlie si)arks would 
io;nite the tinder. Everv family had this tire outtit. 



358 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Carpets had not yet come into use, except in rare cases, till 
the early part of the present century. Every thing was 
home-made. House-wives spun and wove, and also did the 
knittinif, and sewino; and mendinjj. The walls were bare of 
pictures and ornaments, and the era of pianos, and laces, 
and Venetian blinds were a generation in the future. If the 
work of our ffreat-cjrandmothers was hard with their few 
conveniences as compared with our ample facilities and larger 
means, their necessities were far less exacting, and they were 
satisfied with a simple mode of life, out of which they man- 
aged to extract many a sweet, and gave to the world an ex- 
ample of contentment, industry, and moral purity. 

The better class were good livers, though the luxuries of 
life were few and sparingly used. Meat was eaten in large 
(juantities, both that which was obtained from domestic ani- 
mals and that which was secured by hunting and fishing. 
Wild animals abounded in these times, and the forests wei-e 
hunted for bear, moose, deer, and smaller game, whilst the 
waters swarmed with fish, which were caught in large quanti- 
ties and used as food. Wheat was not much in use at first, 
but in families of easy circimistances when company was en- 
tertained, the table was usually served with white or wheaten 
bread. Barley-cake was a common article of food, but 
buck-wheat was not much in favor. The most general kind 
of bread was that which was made of rye and Indian meal, 
and this appeared on the table at each meal. The Indian 
pudding was a great favorite if we may judge from the fre- 
quency with which it made its appearance at meal time. 
Potatoes were not much in vogue in the earlier days, but 
turnips and parsnips were common vegetables for the table. 
Common yellow corn was used in the green state. Sweet 
corn was not then known. Pumpkins also were a common 
article of food, and were prepared by cutting a hole in one 
end and removing all the seeds and soft parts, and being 
filled with milk, thev were baked in a hot oven for six or 



DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL LIFE. 359 

eight hours. Tliis was a favorite dish. S([iiash was not 
much in use amongst the early settlers. 

Tea was a rarity in these times, and coffee was made from 
corn, rye, beans and wheat, roasted. There were other 
drinks. Punch was one of the most conunon, and was made 
in large bowls and passed around to the company, each per- 
son drinking from the bowl in which the beverage was pre- 
pared. Flip was another popular drink, made in mugs of 
beer and later of cider, and heated by the "flip-iron" or 
"logger-head," or even by the fire-poker. After orchards 
began to bear, and when cider was plenty, the "juice of the 
forbidden fruit" was taken "straight" and freely. Wine 
was seldom used and was confined entirely to those who 
formed the aristocracy or the society of the settlement. All 
drinking was of a social character, and generally the same 
mug or bowl was passed from mouth to mouth. 

Sugar-making was a social event. Everything was primi- 
tive, no large pans or evaporators, but old fashioned iron 
kettles hung on green poles over cracking fires, to reduce the 
sap to syrup, and then a kettle hung on a pole to sugar off 
by. The boys and girls had jolly times over their syrup and 
snow and birch paddles made sweeter by ruby lips, and the 
gallant beaux would blister their tongues to see if the syrup 
was cool enough for their sweethearts. And so with sonu- 
and many a silver laugh, the sugar [)arty went on into the 
late evening. 

Quite an incident was the [)aring-bee in i)ringing the young 
folks together. The larg-e bovs and vouno: men mounted the 
paring machines and peeled the ap})les, whilst the larger girls 
and young ladies (juartered and cored them, and the watch- 
ful mothers with the smaller boys and girls, did the " string- 
ing," and hung them in graceful festoons over the kitchen 
})oles. Then came the supj^er, bountiful and a[)petizing, and 
further on in the evening "blind-man's buff " and "turn the 
plate," with forfeits willingly given and quickly taken, and 



360 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

SO "chasing the squirrel," and "passing the handkerchief," 
and " Simon says hands up," the midnight hour drew on, 
and the boys went home with the girls in the wee hours of 
the night. 

Then, also, the huskings in the bright October evenings, 
when the air was crisp and the stars over head jeweled the 
sky. These were common in early times, and the company 
was often large. The unhusked corn was piled in a heap in 
the centre of the great kitchen, and the buskers, — men, 
women, boys and girls, — sat around the fire on the floor. 
From the immense fire-place supplied with pitch knots and 
wood, came abundant light, casting a spectral hue over the 
room and its occupants. The hours were varied with song 
and story, and the red ear, the eager search of all, was awaited 
with many a laugh and joke and guess. When the pile was 
husked, cider was passed around, and the young people in- 
dulged in a little dancing. Later, came the supper of baked 
beans and Indian pudding, pumpkin pies, doughnuts, cake 
and cheese, and afterwards a renewal of the dance, the gay 
company singing, " We won't go home till morning," and 
generally they didn't. 

Muster-day also had its social feature, and was a great 
event in early times. Every body saw every body far and 
near on that occasion. 

The social character of church-going was stronger then 
than now. The people generally went to church. Meetings 
were held mornino; and evening, with an hour's intermission 
between the services. Those from a distance took a bite of 
cheese and bread. Sabbath schools there were none, and the 
hour was spent by the women in social chat about domestic 
aiiatters, and the latest neighborhood news was served up for 
the week. The men talked over the news and events of the 
outer world, if any thing more than ordinary came to hand, 
as well as the home news. To many this was the only time 
when they learned what was going on in the outer world. 



DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL LIFE. 361 

Papers were a rarity, and the leaders of society woukl he 
surrounded by groups of men and hoys, listening to what 
was said. Sometimes a little business was initiated, incipi- 
ent steps taken toward purchases and trades, or what could 
he had or done that was needed. The hour was a sort of 
exchange time, when seller and buyer, like the good deacon, 
would talk, saying, "If it was to-morrow, what and so." 
This was generally done in a quiet way, and was known as 
"horse-shedding." Our fore-fathers were not especially 
wicked in this. It was not greed that made them use " holy 
time" for the initiation of such matters, but they were gov- 
erned by circumstances, sometimes well-nigh by necessity, 
and it may be doubted if their ' ' walk and conversation " was 
not fully as exemplary as that of ])e()ple to-day who go to 
church. 

Such was the general domestic and social life in Haverhill 
to the early quarter of the present century. The rich and 
society people of that day had of course their little gather- 
ings, and were a class by themselves distinct from the great 
mass of the people. It is said, and it is quite true, I think, 
that the society people of early Haverhill were generally in 
better circumstances of property and education than the same 
class in the surroimding towns. There was a genuine aris- 
tocracy which gave character and influence to the Town, and 
this class was composed of men and women of superior en- 
dowment. Official position in those days represented moral 
worth and capacity. 

But the ways and customs of old have changed. The 
first quarter of nineteenth century marks the commencement 
of a new order of things. Rebellion against forced payment 
of taxes for support of the gospel begins to show itself. 
Church-going, though still regarded as an item of respecta- 
bility, is less universal. The advance line of modern social 
and domestic civilization is coming apace. The stage coach 
is heard in the near future, and horse-back riding begins to 



362 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

decrease. Blinds, })ictures and ornaments appear here and 
there. Wooden plates give way about 1815, as do also 
sanded floors and hemlock brooms. I am told that the first 
four-wheel carriage was brought to the Cohos Country in 1814 
and belonged to Benjamin Sweat of Piermont, and much 
later the first piano appeared in Haverhill. Chaises were in- 
troduced in 1805 and wagons a little later. Stoves were 
not known at the close of the last century. Cook stoves 
came into use about 1815 and clocks a little earlier. The 
large fire-place gave way to the iron frame, and the Frank- 
lin stove succeeded this. Paring-bees and huskings are still 
features of secluded country life, but not as of yore, and 
many of the customs and ways of the olden times are dim 
shadows of the past, or so changed that they are hardly 
recognized. No longer the "curfew tolls the evening bell," 
and the olden lights glimmer only in memory. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 
INDIAN NAMES. 

The Indian names which were given to the teiritorv of 
Haverhill and its rivers have been retained in part. The 
country was known in earliest times as Cowass, Kohass and 
Cohas or Cohos, all different spellings of the same name. 
"Cowass" appears only once in the Town records. But 
soon after the country began to be settled it was almost al- 
ways called Cohos. In later years, however, the h has been 
dropj)ed, and it is now almost invariably written Coos. This 
is unfortunate, as it is misleading as regards to the proper 
pronunciation of the name, sometimes pronounced as if oo 
were one long o. In this volume the spelling has been 
uniformly Cohos, as probably the most correct. Cohox it 
is said means crooked, and was borrowed from the Cohas- 
aukes, a part of the 8t. Francis tribe, uch or auke meaning 
river or place, and was applied to the territory of Haverhill, 
on account of the crooked course of the river and the conse- 
quent large bends of the land, the immense bows, the most 
striking of which are the "Little Ox-Bow" in Haverhill, 
and the "Big Ox-Bow" in Newbury, Vt. A similar geo- 
graphical condition of the tei-ritory pi-esents itself at and 
above Lancaster, and hence that territory in early times was 
known as " Up[)er Cohos," whilst the territory of Haverhill 
and Xewbury, Vt., was known as "Lower Cohos." 

A.m77ionoosuc means the Jish j^iace or river. The Indian 
way of spelling or pronouncing the word wa« JVcimaos Auke, 
in which can easily be detected the word Ammonoosue. This 
word by many of the best authorities is written with only 
one m and a k at the end. 

Connecticut means the long-deer-place or river, and the 



364 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Indian spelling or pronunciation of the word was Quinne- 
Attiich- Alike. Here also may be readily traced the word 
Connecticut. The word "long" in the Indian name most 
likely refers to the large range of territory in which the deer 
were found. 

In a map of the Cohos Country published in London in 
1768 for his Majesty, the Indian name for the Oliverian is 
given as Umpammonoosuck, composed of the two Indian 
words in Ammonoosuc (Namaos Auke), and following 
the analogy of that word, the former would mean some-sort 
oj-a-jish-place or river. 



INDIANS. 

When the Power's expedition passed through the Cohos 
Country as far north as Lancaster, there were no Indians then 
occupying the territory, although as he reports in his Journal 
of that expedition, there were "cleared intervals" at what is 
now Ox-Bow, and when Page and Pattie came to Ox-Bow 
in 17(U, the hills of corn though grown over with grass, 
were still visible, showing that the Indians had been in some 
kind of occupancy of the territory till within a few years. 

The Indians who occupied the Cohos Country were a part 
or branch of the St. Francis tribe, whose head-quarters were 
on the St. Francis river, where they had an extensive settle-' 
ment. Whether they occupied the country permanently may 
perhaps be a question of some doubt, especially the Xew 
Hampshire side, though there are reasons for believing that 
at least for a time they had a permanent settlement in the 
Cohos Country, and cultivated the "cleared intervals" in 
raising corn, the hills of which could still be seen in 17(il by 
the first white settlers. 

There are marks of a permanent Indian settlement on the 
Vermont side of the river, which were still visible when the 
country was first settled by the white man. Traces of an 



MISCELLANEOUS. 305 

old Indian fort were to be seen, and various kinds of" Indian 
im})lenients were found, such as stone mortar and pestle, 
arrow heads, flints, etc. Also ash-heaps and human bones 
were torn up by the plow. 

It is however quite probable that in the later years before 
the country was discovered and occupied by the white man, 
Indians did not abide in this region as their permanent set- 
tlement, but only occupied the country temporarily for pur- 
poses of hunting and raising corn. This seems to be 
probable from the fact that when Powers passed through the 
Cohos Country in 1754, no Indians were there in occupancy 
of the territory, nor were there any fresh traces of such 
occupancy. There were also no fresh traces of Indians be- 
ing in permanent possession of the country when the first 
white settlers came in. Grant Powers in his History of the 
Cohos Country makes the statement that Page and Pattie 
were surrounded by Indians in the winter of 1761, which 
they spent at Cohos, but this is not conclusive that a per- 
manent settlement of Indians was at that date there. The 
old fort spoken of had trees growing within it as thick as a 
man's thigh, and this would indicate an abandonment of the 
territory as a permanent home of the Indians. 

Indians, however, continued to abide at Cohos after the 
country was settled by the white man, and their presence at 
that time and in previous years may be explained in this 
way. This country abounded in game, and if ever perma- 
nently occupied by the St. Francis tribe, which is quite prob- 
able, such occupancy may have ceased on account of the 
Indian wars. Indeed, there is a tradition that after the 
fight with Lovewell the Indians said they would have to 
abandon Cohos.* But thougli it may have been abandoned 



* This can hardly be called a figjht. Capt. Lovewell surprised a 
camp of Indians in the night and killed them all in their sleep ; but 
it struck terror to the hearts of the savages, and may have caused the 
Cohos branch to abandon this region. The scene of Capt. Lovewell's 



366 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

by the Indians as a permanent' home, they still held it as an 
out-post, a hunting-ground, and as especially well-fitted for 
raising corn. And marks of the latter, as above stated, 
were found both by Powers and the first settlers. 

An interesting fact in my possession may throw light on 
this matter. The late Mr. Hayes of Windsor, Vt., who 
was mail agent between Springfield, Mass., and Newport, 
Vt., once told me that the first ripe corn between Springfield 
and Newport, was usually found on the meadows at New- 
bury, this being the earliest ground between the two points. 
This may explain the relation of the St. Francis' tribe of 
Indians to the Cohos Country. Years after it may have been 
abandoned as a permanent abode, it was occupied as a hunt- 
ing ground and sure spot to ripen corn, and in this way it 
continued to be a feeder to the large and permanent settle- 
ment of the tribe on the St. Francis river. 



FAIRS AND MARKETS. 

In the charter of Haverhill as in the charters of all other 
towns, certain provisions were made which in these days 
were rather deemed as privileges. One of those provisions 
was for the establishment of a fair twice a year as soon as 
there were "fifty families resident and settled in the town.*' 
This idea of a fair was brought from England and Ireland, 
and fairs still continue in some places in the old coimtry. 
Russia and the East have their great annual fair on the 
Volga at Nijni Novgorod, lasting several months. These town 
fairs were seasons for trafllicking. It is however not known 
whether a fair was ever inaugurated in the Town ; indeed, st) 
good authority as Hon. A. S. Batchellor, gives it as his 
opinion that only one town in the state ever begun, and con- 
exploit was in the town of Wakefield, and the pond near by i^ now 
called Lovewell's pond. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 3()7 

tinned the custom of a fair, and that was the Scotch-Irish 
settled town of" Londonderry, where a fair in olden times 
was held for a week in October. 

The other provision was that for a weekly market day. 
Tiiis idea also came from the mother country, and the market 
was held one or more days in each week. It may also be 
doubted whether the observance of this privilege was ever in 
vogue, at least more than nominally. 



AVILl) ANIMALS, GAME AND FISH. 

When the early settlers came into the Cohos Country, and 
even long after, the region abounded in wild animals and in 
great variety of game and fish. The Connecticut was plen- 
tifully stocked with the finest of salmon, and the brooks 
furnished abundance of trout. Otter, mink and beaver in- 
habited the banks of the rivers and streams in large numbers, 
whilst bear, wolves, moose and deer filled the forests. Capt. 
Powers' party shot a moose on Baker's river on their way to 
the Cohos Country. Even as late as 1769 moose yarded in 
the winter on the meadows, and bears came into barn-yards 
and destroyed sheep and small cattle. Grant Powers tells 
how Mrs. Col. Kent of Newbury was surprised one Sabbath 
morning, whilst her husband had gone to church, by three 
monster bears that came and looked into the open door of 
the room where she was sitting. An article in the warrant 
for town meeting in 1769, to see if the Town would jirovide 
a "stock of anmnmition," indicates the exposed condition of 
the settlement to the attacks of ferocious animals. At the 
same meetino; " 20 shillinfjs" were voted for each wolf 
caught or killed, and votes of bounties for the destruction of 
wolves, were frequent in subsequent years. 

But although wild animals were numerous in this rejiion 
in early times, tradition hands down no striking adventure 
or death struirgle with bears or wolves, such as arc recorded 



368 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

of Other towns in their early settlement. Doubtless Haver- 
hill had her numerous exciting hunts of various sorts. Deer 
were pursued for the food they furnished, and bears were 
slain for a like purpose and for their skins, and no doubt the 
moose that yarded on the meadows as late as 1769 were not 
left in absolute possession of their camping ground, but 
none of these that are worth recording, have come floating 
down the tide of tradition, so that Grant Powers was com- 
pelled to go out of Town for the bear story that garlands his 
history. 



AN EGYPTIAX PLAGUE. 

In 1770 the Connecticut valley from Lancaster to Xorth- 
field, Mass., was invaded by an army of worms. They 
crossed the country from west to east, making their appear- 
ance in the latter part of July and literally covered the 
land. In general color they were brown with a black stripe 
on either side running lengthwise, and in size they were from 
one to three inches in length, and moved rapidly, only paus- 
ing when they took food. They filled the houses and in- 
vaded the dough-troughs of the people. In solid masses 
they crawled up the sides and over houses, so that the boards 
and shingles were hid from view. Entire fields of wheat 
and corn were drowned by them, but pumpkin- vines, peas, 
potatoes and flax were left untouched. They climbed the 
wheat-stalks and cut off" the head which was quickly eaten. 
Corn almost man high and standing thick in fields, was so 
thoroughly consumed that only the bare stalks Avere left, 
after the army of worms passed through the fields. Sud- 
denly about the first of September they disappeared, and not 
a trace of their dead bodies could be found. Where they 
went or what became of them no one ever knew. They 
appeared again in 1781, but in small numbers, and did very 
little injury. But in their first invasion they left the country 



MISCELLANEOl S, 3()1> 

hy their havoc in a destitute condition, and liad it not been 
tor tlie immense croj) of pumpkins \vht)se vines the worms 
did not touch, and the abundance ot" pi<2;eons that filled the 
forests that season, great distress, if not actual starvation, 
must have come to multitudes of families in the neighboring 
towns that were not so well provided with a surplus of pro- 
visions as the people of Haverhill were. Col. Tyler of 
Piermont said his father drew hay from Xewbury in a hand- 
sled on the ice, to feed his cattle the winter after the Avorm- 
invasion, and the people of Piermont at the request of Haver- 
hill and Newbury, floated down the river in cribs made of 
logs, immense numbers of pumpkins, that town being left 
especially destitute by the destroyer. 



THE riGEOXS. 

In the autumn of the same year of the worm-invasion, 
there was an unparalled flight of pigeons into the Cohos 
Country. The forests and fields were black with these 
featheiy adAcnts. They came immediately after the Avorms 
so suddenly disappeared, and their coming was a timely aid 
to the people in the new settlements. They were especially 
numerous on the meadows of Haverhill, and were captured 
in immense quantities. It is related that Col. Jonathan 
Tyler and tw'o of his brothers took in the course of ten days 
over four hundred dozen of these birds. The people picked 
and dried tliem in large quantities for their winter meat, as a 
substitute for other meats of which they were depriAcd by 
the ravages of the worms in the destruction of crops on 
which hogs and cattle could be fed. The feathers, too, 
served as useful material for beds and pillows. 



THE GREAT FLOOD. 

The early settlers "pitched," as they termed it. their homes 



370 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

on the meadows. In those days floods were not so sudden 
and j)recipitous as they have since become. Forests were 
then dense and the ground was covered with thick under- 
growth, so that the water was held in reserve and more 
o^raduallv declined to the river channel. But the river had 
its high waters then as now. Probably the greatest flood in 
the history of this region since its settlement, occurred in 
1771. In that year the inhabitants were driven from their 
homes on the meadows, and afterwards built new houses on 
the high ground. The river rose to such a height that the 
ground in many places was covered with sand to the depth 
of two and three feet, and the inhabitants not only lost their 
crops for the season, l)ut in some places the soil was torn up 
by the powerful current and carried away. A horse it is 
said, happened to be tied to a log in a stock-yard at Great 
Ox-Bow, and was carried down the river as far as Hanover, 
where he was taken out alive, his head l)eing supported above 
the water by the log. Other animals were swept away by 
the flood, and much damage was done to property. It does 
not appear that any lives were lost, though there were some 
narrow escapes. 



HOUSES OF REFUGE. 

In the earliest days of the settlement when only a blazed 
road led into and from the Cohos Country, transportation in 
summer was by pack-horses and in winter on sleds drawn by 
men. In this way the first mill-crank w\as brought into this 
region. The party had hard work in the long journey from 
Concord to Cohos, a distance of nearly seventy miles. Judge 
Woodward and John Page were of the party, and they came 
near perishing in crossing Xewfound lake, but finding them- 
selves growing drowsy from exhaustion and cold, they made 
one strenuous effort to reach a camp in tlie woods. Xow 
this camp or retreat was one of a series which the earliest 



mi8Cellan'p:ois. 371 

settlers had built through the blazed forests from Haverhill 
to Salisbury, ten or twelve miles apart, and they were furn- 
ished with fuel and means of kindling a fire, so that if par- 
ties or individuals were overtaken by fieree storms and piti- 
less cold whilst on their way to or from Cohos, they eOuld at 
least find temporary shelter from tlie cold and a protected 
place to lodge in. 



A NOTED CHARACTEK. 

I am indebted to the kindness of my friend, Rev. Henry 
A. Hazcn,-who has done most valuable service in antiquarian 
research, for the following sketch of a noted person who 
came to Haverhill, it is said, before the Revolution, and who 
always seemed to be something of a mysterious character. 
What follows may throw some light upon the man and the 
mystery. The account is taken from the Introduction, pp. 
125-28, of a book published in Boston in 1884, entitled 
"Tea Leaves," by Francis S. Drake. 

"Captaix Mackintosh was a tradesman of Boston, who 
acquired great prominence in the local disturbances of the 
town, prior to the outbreak of the Revolution, but who dis- 
appears from her history after that period. He first came 
into notice as the leader of the South End pafty in the cele- 
bration of Pope Day which took jdace on the 5th of Novem- 
ber in commemoration of the discovery of tlie (lunpowder 
[)lot. In 17(i5 the two factions of the North ;ind South 
Ends harmonized, and after a friendly meeting in King, now 
State Street, marched together to Liberty Tree. The lead- 
ers, ]Mackintosh of the South, and Swift of the Nortii End, 
appeared in military habits, with small canes resting on their 
left arms, having nuisic in front and Hank. All the propcrtv 
used on such occasions was afterwards ])urnt on Co[)ps Hill. 
Mackintosh was a ring-leader in tlie riot of Aug. 2(i, 17(i5, 
when Lieut-Gov. Hutchinson's liouse was destroved, and 



372 HISTORY OF HAVEKHILL. 

was arrested in King Street next day, Init was immediately 
released by the sheriff, on the demand of a number of mer- 
chants and other persons of character and property. 

"From the diary and letters of Thomas Hutchinson, we 
take the following passage : 

' The Governor had even moved a council, the day after the 
riot. The sheriff attended, and upon inquiry, it appeared 
that one Mackintosh, a shoemaker, was among the most 
active in destroying the Lieut. -Governor's house and furni- 
ture. A warrant was given to the sheriff to apprehend him 
by name, with divers others. ]\Iackintosh appeared in King 
Street, and the sheriff took him, but soon discharged him 
and returned to the council-chamber, AvheVe he gave an ac- 
count of his taking him, and that J\Ir. Nathaniel Coffin and 
several other gentlemen came to him and told him that it had 
been agreed that the Cadets and many other persons should 
appear in arms the next evening as a guard to security 
against a fish riot, which was feared and said to have been 
threatened, but not a man would appear, unless Mackintosh 
was discharged. The Lieut, -Governor asked, ' but did you 
discharge him?' 'Yes.' 'Then you have not done your 
duty.' And this was all the notice taken of the discharge. 
The true reason of this distinguishing JNLackintosh, was that 
he could discover who employed him, where as the other per- 
sons apprehended were such as had collected together with- 
out knowing of any previous plan.' 

' ' Mackintosh was styled the First Captain-General of 
Liberty Tree and had charge of the illuminations, hanging 
at effigies, etc. Long afterward, on speaking of the tea 
party, he said, 'It was my chickens that did the job.' INIy 
informant, Mr. Schulyer INIerrill, then a boy of ten, remarks 
that it was a mystery to him, at that time, how chickens 
could have any thing to do with a tea party ! jNIackintosh is 
described by Merrill as of slight build, sandy complexion, 
and nervous temperament. He died in extreme poverty at 
North Haverhill, N. H., about the year 1812, at the age of 
seventy. His unmarked grave can be pointed out by Mr. 



f 



MISCELLANEOUS. 373 

Morrill, who still resides in North Haverhill at the ajje of 
eighty-two." 

Sueh is the aecount given of the person who came to 
Haverhill at an early date by the author of "The Leaves." 
Tradition has handed down the fact that he claimed to have 
been the leader of the Tea-party that threw overboard the 
tea in Boston harbor, and being a bold leader who may 
have got himself into trouble in the "local disturbances of 
the town" [Boston], he left his old abode and came into the 
Cohos Country. 



IIOKSE AIEADOW. 

Grant Powers gives the origin of the name. In 17(33 
some soldiers who had enlisted in Pennsylvania in the British 
army at the beginning of the French war, and Avho were de- 
tained after peace was declared, deseiled and made their way 
through the woods to the head waters of the Connecticut, 
and then down the river. Coming to Haverhill nuich fam- 
ished and finding a horse loose on the interval now known as 
"Horse meadow," they killed the animal and satisfied their 
hunger, not knowino; that there were Enalish settlements 
near by. And this incident, it is said, gave origin to the 
name of Horse meadow. Nearly a century afterwards a 
lad, * working on the farm now owned by the county, was 
passing along the road, when a gentleman and a lady in a 
fine carriage drove up and stop[)ing, asked what place it was. 
The name being given, the gentleman asked the origin of it. 
and was told the story as related by Mr. Powers. " ^^'hv I "" 
exclaimed the gentleman, " I shall have something to tell 
my old mother when I get home. My grandfather was one 
of that party and ate of that horse. Many a time I heard 
the story, but I never sup})osed I should see the place." 



* Key. Levi Rodffers. 



374 HISTORY OF HAVEIiHILL. 

THE POOR. 

In early times before town poor-houses were appointed, 
the poor were taken care of bv individuals. They were })ut 
up at auction and struck off to the lowest bidder. Thus in 
1798 the sum of 22£, ()s, 2d, was allowed Ezekiel Ladd for 
the care of the poor for the fiscal years 17H7— 8. A poor- 
farm was bouLi'ht in 1888. 



HOG-REEVE. 

This in the early years of the settlement of the Town was 
an ofHce of much usefulness, and the most respectable citi- 
zens were called to fill it. It was known under se^■eral 
names, as "hay-wards," "field-drivers." In those days the 
fields were exposed to stray hogs, and it was the duty of the 
"hay-wards" or "field-drivers" to take care of these in- 
truders. The method of treatment was to insert a piece of 
wire in the hog's nose and twist the ends together. In this 
way rooting would be prevented. In later times the oflfice 
fell into disrepute, and was often voted as the humor hap- 
pened to take the town-meeting, to some one as a joke, more 
generally to some young man who had married during the 
year. The office seems to have dropped out entirely. 



TYTHING-MAN. 

The office of the tything-man has also come and gone. It 
was peculiar to the times of the early settlement of the Town, 
and was an affair of great importance as our forefathers 
viewed things. The duty of the tything-man was at first to 
inspect licensed houses and to give information of all dis- 
orders to a justice of the peace. That duty afterwards 
passed to the constable, and the tything-man's functions were 
restricted to keeping order on the Sabbath, and was more of 



MISCELLAXEOrS. 375 

a religiouf! office. Taverns^ were prohibited on the Sabbath 
tVom entertaining inhabitants of the town ; likewise all labor, 
recreation, travelling and rudeness at places of public wor- 
ship were forbidden on that day, and the tything-man was to 
see to the enforcement of tiiese re((uirenients. He also at- 
tended to the duty of observing order in church and enforc- 
ing a proper regard to the services of the sanctuary. Tiie 
tything-nian sat near the minister, and sometimes among the 
audience, with his ])ole in hand to see that everybody be- 
haved and kept awake. It is said he would often stand u\) 
and with his long wand punch some one in the side or back, 
who chanced to be overcome with drowsiness, whilst the boys 
who hap})encd to drop into any misdemeanors were admon- 
ished in the same wav. 



COURT AND COURT HOUSES, 

Soon after tiie organization of Grafton county, wliich was 
in 1771, some of the more energetic citizens of Haverhill, 
chief of whom was Col. John Hurd, took steps to make 
Haverhill the western county seat, and accordingly in 1773 
the courts were brought to Haverhill, a superior and an in- 
ferior court. The former was called the Court of Conmion 
Pleas, the latter the Court of Sessions. Col. John Hurd 
was chief Justice of the Conmion Pleas, witli Col. Asa Porter 
of Ha\erhill, Daniel Hobart of Plymouth, and P)ezaleel 
AVoodward of Hanover as associate justice. Col. flohn Fen- 
ton of Plymouth was clerk. These were all men of mark. 
The (Jourt of Sessions was <'om[)Osed of the justice of the 
peace. The Common Pleas does not seem to have organized 
till the close of the Kcbellion, and the stirring events of 
those times in the Cohos Country seem to have closed the 
courts of justice, and law was administcri'd cither by local 
committees or by the military. 

The Court of General Sessions of the Peace met the first 



376 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

time in Haverhill in 1774, and the records of its first ses- 
sion are as follows : "At His Majesty's Court of General 
Sessions of the Peace begun in and held at Haverhill in and 
for the county of Grafton, on the 3d Tuesday in April, be- 
ing- the 19th of the same month, in the l-lth year of the 
reign of George the Third, by the grace of God, of Great 
Brittain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc., 
Annoque Domini, 1777." At this first meeting the justices 
present were John Fenton, Bezaleel Woodward, Israel 
Morey and John Whealley. Subsequently, the number of 
justices was much greater, on one occasion the records note 
the presence of twenty -two. The Gourt of Sessions con- 
tinued till 1794, when by act of legislation it was changed 
i>v merged into the Court of Connnon Pleas with four judges. 
Afterwards, l-SOo, as the records show, the court consisted 
of three judges, a chief justice and the associates. 

It was in 1772 that the Proprietors first moved in the 
matter of briuiiino; the courts to Haverhill. Col. John Hurd 
was chosen agent of the Town to [)etition the General 
Asseml)ly in regard to the matter, and for this service he 
was voted " 1, ()()() acres of land in the undivided land in 
the town-shij) of Haverhill," with " liberty to pitch it in a 
scjuai-e form," upon condition that he should succeed in 
securing the holding of one lialf the inferior courts and one 
superior court in Haverhill. A coj)y of this vote was to be 
sent by Col. Asa Porter to Portsmouth by the "easiest 
meth(jd."' What this " easiest method" was we are not in- 
formed, l)ut it Avas not liy mail, as no post-route was estab- 
lished at that early day. Quite likely the said Col. Porter 
was to watch his chance to send the vote by some one who 
might be journeying that way. But although Col. Hurd 
was fortunate enough to persuade the Provincial Authorities 
to accede to the wishes of the Proprietors, he was not so 
successful in coming into his "pitch" of 1,000 acres of 
land. Tlie Proprietors refused to share with Asa Porter, 



1 



MISCELLANEOT'S. 877 

John Hazen, and others, their proportion of the 1, ()()() acres 
which were voted. And still later, 1771), the Projjrietors 
voted to "lay out the land said to be claimed by Col. John 
Hurd into lots, and to be drawed as other lots." AMiat the 
difficulty was, is not known, but this may be a hint to ac- 
count for the fact that between Col. Hurd and the citizens of 
Haverhill, there had sprung up "mutual disaffection." 

After the courts were appointed to be at Haverhill, the 
Proprietors immediately made provision for the location of 
the building, and a piece of land "200 rods square, and a 
road 2 rods wide and 200 rods long," were voted " opjiosite 
Great Ox-Bow to accommodate the court house and jail." 
The location was a little north of North Haverhill village on 
the west side of the road. The coiu't house and jail were 
built of wood, and Asa Porter acted as agent. Some ex- 
travagance seems to have been indulged in, an<l the court 
ordered a committee to investigate Porter's account, and this 
committee reported that the account was a " very extrava- 
gant" one. Col. Charles Johnston and Jonathan Haley 
were added to the committee to complete the buildings, and 
they recommended that they l)e finished in the "plainest 
and most frugal manner." The court also directed that 
"stocks and a whipping-post" be erected. 

The building of the court house and jail was (piitc an 
event in the new settlement, and was achieved, besides the 
expenditure of lal)or and material, with considerable " spirit," 
since the amount of rum used on that occasion was over sixty 
gallons. Col. Porter's account for l)uil(ling the court house 
and jail was £o.S(;, ,").s, 2(1, or about $1,1)31, which in those 
times was, in the language of the investigating conunittee, a 
" very extravagant" sum. The shingles used were some of 
them sixteen inches wide, and were, it is said, perfectly 
sound when the building was taken down over a half century 
after it was built. It was a large structure, about SOx")(J 
feet, and two stories high. The up[)er story was used as the 



378 HISTOKY OF HAVERHILL. 

coiu't-room. At the west end was the jail, and at the east 
end were rooms for the sheriff' and jailer. After it was 
abandoned as a Court House it was used as a dwelling. The 
buildino- had a lonely and desolate look, and the children on 
their way to school did not dare to enter it. The windows 
were glazed with small green glass, at which the boys would 
throw stones or clubs as they passed. They finally succeeded 
in breakin<>- them all in, thouo-h as one of these bovs remarks, 
" it took a pretty stoutly-thrown club to demolish them as 
the panes were made of thick glass." 

Early there was a mo\ement to make the south end of the 
Town the important point. Here was ample water-power, 
besides enterprise and })ublic spirit which \Aere [)rompt in 
utilizin"- adyantag^es. In 1783 the remoyal of the Court 
House to the Corner was agitated, and a committee consist- 
ing of Moses Dow, Ezekiel Ladd, and James Woodward, 
recommended the building of a court house and jail on an 
"eminence a little south of the Brook on land of John 
Ladd." A year later another committee was chosen for the 
same purpose, and the composition of the committee, — 
Charles Johnston, Moses Dow, Timothy Bedel, James 
Woodward, — shows the fine hand at work in shaping things 
for the ])re-eminence of the Corner. Afterwards, 1793, cer- 
tain citizens of Hayerhill, at the head of whom was Charles 
Johnston, erected a building near the site of the present 
Academy building, and offered the same to the county for 
the use of the courts. The court-room was in the second 
story, and the courts were held there and in its successor 
after the original building was built till about 1S43, when 
the present Court House on Court Street was built. 

In earlier days eminent lawyers rode the circuit, as it was 

called, and conducted the trial of causes in the courts all 

oyer the state. Grafton county courts had the full share of 

these yisiting: attorneys, amomrst whom were such well- 
ed *■ ^ 

known persons as Jeremiah Smith, Ezekiel Wel^ster, George 



MISCELLAXEOrs. 379 

8ulli\aii, Kichard Fletclicr, Parker Noyes, Levi ^^'()()lllJllrv, 
Ichabod Bartlett, and Joel Parker, men eminent in the pro- 
fession and known far and near, not only for their learning; 
and al)ility, but some of them as eloquent advocates ; and 
the mute walls of the Academy building were they to speak, 
could tell of many a !)attle of these legal giants, of the fire 
of intellect and tiie flash of wit. People gathered in crowds 
to listen to the great leaders of forensic eloquence. And in 
this old court-room, too, Haverhiirs greatest lawyer, Joseph 
Bell, maintained the honor of the Grafton county bar in con- 
flict with some of these noted lawyers. 

In earlier days, too, the court terms were longer thau they 
are now, and the lawyers, their clients, sheriff and deputies, 
jurors and witnesses, came to stay till the business that called 
them here was finished. Tiiey came in their own teams 
largely. The great lawyers and judges travelled in their " one 
horse shay," and as Mr. Duncan relates in his reminiscence 
of the late Mrs. iVIorgan whose acquaintanceship with the 
olden bar was so extensive, and the ta\erns were crowded for 
weeks with the legal fraternity and tiieir clients. The court 
and the bar had a room and table set apart for themselves, 
and to this elect company no layman was aduiitted, iiowever 
high in infiuence and social standing. And on the Sabbath, 
it is said, the judges and the great lawyers were accustomed 
to go down to Piermont in the old meeting house with its 
high-back pews, on the top of the hill just south of Mr. 
Brainard's house, to hear the Rev. Kobert Blake, a Scotch- 
man of eloquence and power. A pew was set a[)art as the 
judges })ew. Haverhill was a noted point iu those days, and 
the influence of the court and bar upon tiie place was a 
considerable factor in her historv. 



TWO IlISTOltlf FAUMS. 

The Hazex Fau:\i. John Hazen, the founder of the 



380 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

Town, was accorded the privilege of" choosing his "pitch" 
before tlie other "•rantees were allowed to draw their shares. 
He accordingly selected his five shares in Ox-Bow meadow 
all in one plot, and the farm was always known as the 
"Hazen Farm."' It was about one mile square, and is noAv 
in possession of Nathaniel M. Swasey of North Haverhill. 
The old buildings on the farm are supposed to be the original 
buildings which were erected after tiie temporary huts were 
put up, and if that is the fact they are over a hundred years 
old. The farm has been in the Swasey family for about 
three-fourths of a century. High Sheriff Edson owhed it 
before it came into the possession of Gookin and Swasey. 

The Fisher Far:\i. The "Fisher Farm" several times 
mentioned in these pages was a famous tract of land extend- 
ing from the Ox-Bow to the eastern part of the Town. It 
Avas a mile wide and between five and six miles long and 
contained over 2,400 acres. The " Hazen Farm " bounded 
it on the west. This tract was covered with the finest of 
pine, and was an unbroken wilderness till the beginning of 
present century, when it passed into tlie hands of Gookin 
and Swasey, who manufactured vast quantities of lunil)er 
from it. 

How this tract came into the possession of ]\Ir. Fisher is 
not known, except that as was common in the chartering of 
towns at that time, certain persons who stood near the 
"throne of power," were given the privilege of reserved 
land, perhaps as compensation for their services in securing 
these charters. 

John Fisher was an Englishman who was royal na^al 
officer at Portsmouth, and afterwards assistant secretary of 
state in England. He was connected by marriage with Gov. 
Wentworth, and at the breaking out of the Revolution, his 
sympathies being with the royal party, he was compelled to 
leave the country. His lands in Haverhill were confiscated 
during the Revolution and the tillable j)ortion was farmed 



MISCELLANEOUS. 381 

for the benefit of the troops who were stationed at Cohos at 
that time. Afterwards an act was [)assed by the legishiture 
by which these lands were restored, and he and his agents 
were ofranted the rig^ht of selling and of ffivingr a lejjal title. 
He died in England about 1805. All his children except a 
daughter, Mrs. Shafter of Portsmouth, also went to Eng- 
land. To Mr. Fisher was granted in 1772 a township which 
was called Danzick for some time, and afterwards Fishersfield 
until it was changed to Newbury in 1837. A plan of the 
" Fisher Farm "' is found in the Proprietors' records drawn 
bv John McDuffee. 



THE GREAT PINES. 

The territory constituting the Town of Haverhill was 
famous for its immense pines, especially the plain at North 
Haverhill, where may still be seen the marks of these giants 
of the primitive forests, whose half-decayed trunks blackened 
liy fire are lying on the ground here and there east of the 
village, and in the huge stump fences which are found in that 
part of the Town. jNIany of these pines grew to an extra- 
ordinary size, towering into the sky, from which was manu- 
factured the finest lumber. One who remembers well these 
tall trees along the brook above the Swasey mills, tells of 
one cut near Briar hill, seventy feet of which was hauled to 
Swasey 's mill, the butt-end measuring foiu' feet and the 
smaller end over two feet, and which cut 4,000 feet of lum- 
ber, 2,500 of which was "clear stuff." "I remember," 
says this same person, "seeing and pacing off tlie length of 
a pine that grew near the head of the Swasey mill-pond, 
which had long been felled by the axe, and had gone to de- 
cay, especially the top, but it measured then ten rods in 
length upon the ground. How much of the top had rotted, 
so as not to be visible, I could not say, but fifty or sixty feet 
must have disappeared." This pine with others, it was said 



382 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

by old men, was cut for the "King's masts" before the- 
Revolution. However, whether any masts were ever cut in 
Haverhill for His Majesty's Royal Navy may be a question, 
but the charter provided that ' ' all white pine and other })ine 
trees within the said township fit for masting our [the King's] 
royal navy may be carefully preserved for that use, and not 
to be felled without our [the King's] special license for so- 
doing." Later, masts in large quantities were floated down 
the Connecticut from the pineries of Haverhill, and found a 
market on Loni^ Island Sound. 



DRINKING HABITS. 

In earlier times the habits and usages of the people were 
in some res})ects different from what they are now. The use 
of spirituovis liquors as a beverage was universal. It was 
not then regarded either as contrary to health or inconsistent 
with morals or respectability to drink liquor. Drunkenness, 
however, for various causes, such as the greater vigor of our 
fore-fathers, their simpler ways of living, their greater free- 
dom from the excitement ^f business and enterprise, and the 
purer quality of the liquor, was not as prevalent then as it 
became in later years. When the Sinclair tavern was built 
and the sign-pole raised, the whole crowd, it is said, was 
drunk, and one of the prominent citizens on Ladd street, 
who aided in raising the sign-pole, went home so far to 
"windward" that he tied his hoi'se up by the tail. Xeither 
was drunkenness considered as specially disgraceful. The 
most reputable citizens took their daily drink, and even 
clergymen were patrons of the social glass. I well remem- 
ber when a lad forty-fi^'e years ago, that the superintendent 
of the Sabbath school in my native place, a man who was 
universally esteemed as one of the most devout and exem- 
plary citizens of the connnunity, was the proprietor of a 
large brewery, to which nndtitudes flocked daily for their 



MISCELLANEOUS. 883 

mug of ale. In such a condition of society it is not strange 
that tlie foremost citizens were inn-holders and venders of 
intoxicating litjuors. The records give scores of names of 
persons who had ap})lied for the privilege of selling licjuor. 
Such well-known persons as Luther Kichardson, the Ladds, 
Joseph Bliss, Joshua Howard, James Woodward, Joseph 
Hutchins, John Page, Moody Bedel, A. J. Crocker, Samuel 
Brooks, Nathaniel Merrill, John Montgomery, Asa Boyn- 
ton, and many others took out licenses as " taverncrs and ven- 
ders of spirituous liquors.'' From 17 Ho to 17^7, a period 
of four years, the records show that thirty persons were 
granted this privilege. 

In the Proprietors' records are numerous entries of votes 
to pay liquor bills contracted for their use, or for the use of 
persons in their employ. In 1774 money was voted to })ay 
for "four and one-half gallons of rum expended in laying- 
out the 100 acre lots." At another time it was ordered to 
" pay Charles Johnston for one gallon rum," and Asa Porter 
for "two gallons rum expended for the use of the Proprie- 
tors." This last looks as if these fathers were in the habit 
of " taking something," when they met for consultation for 
the advancement and [)rosperity of the new settlement. 
Various other entries of the payment of rum-bills are 
found, and on occasion of the building of the first court house 
it took sixty gallons of the "ardent" to complete the temple 
of justice. 



piek:m(jxt imuNDAin' disi'itk. 

Karly in the settlement of the Town a dispute ai-osc iu 
regard to the boundary between Haverhill and Pieiniont. 
The lines of Haverhill as described in the charter arc un- 
broken, and the southern boundary of the Town ran in a 
straight course from the Connecticut river in a south-easterly 
direction jtarallcl with north line. A reference to the pres- 



384 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

ent map of the Town shows that this south line is broken at 
a point about two and a half miles from the river. The jog 
in the Town occurs at Porter's Hill, and was occasioned by 
the settlement of a long controversy between the two towns. 
A map of the Town drawn on the Proprietors' record book 
does not contain the "jog" as it now appears on the Town 
map. 

The dispute arose in this way. In 17(iO the government 
of Xew Hampshire ordered a survey of the Connecticut rner 
from Xo. 4 northward, and at the end of e^'ery six miles on 
a straight line, to mark a tree or set a boundary on each side 
of the river for a township. This survey was made on the 
ice in March, and extended northward to the north-west 
corner of Haverhill. When Capt. Hazen took out the 
charter for the Town a new survey was made, beginning at 
the north-west corner of the Town, and the first boundary, 
that of 1760, was found to be distant a little over seven 
miles from the northern starting-point, about a rod south of 
where Bedel's bridge stands. The surveying party, however, 
did not stop here, but went a mile and some rods further, 
and set the stake at this last point. In 1808 Blanchard and 
Chamlierlain who made the first survey, were brought on the 
ground to determine the original bound, and they testified 
under oath that the boundary was at the point near Bedel's 
brida'c. It has been suau'ested that the fraud was instigated 
I)y the Pro})rietors of Haverhill and Newbury, and that the 
second surveying party acted under their direction. But of 
this there is nothing at all reliable. Two things are doubt- 
less true : the original survey was not very accurate, and the 
second surveying party, for some reasons saw fit to carry the 
south stake of Haverhill and Newbury down something over 
a mile, and as a consequence Ijoth Piermont and Bradford 
are short towns.* 



* The survey of 1760 it is said was made under the direction of Gen. 
Jacob Bailey. If this is the fact, we may have a clue to the enlarge- 
ment of the Haverhill and Newbury boundaries. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 385 

The first mention of this dispute is in the Pro})rietors' 
records of 1770, at which time a committee was appointed 
to "wait on the g'overnor [and] council, to petition them to 
settle and determine the bounds between the towns of HaA - 
erhill and Piermont." Col. James Bailey was appointed to 
that service, and three others were chosen, John Hazen, 
Jonathan Sanders and Maxi Hazeltine, whose duty it was to 
instruct Col. James Bailey as they " shall think proper" in 
relation to the matter intrusted to his care. 

This controversy which was irritating and expensive to 
both parties, extended over a period of about twelve years 
before it was finally settled. Jonathan Sanders and William 
Eastman were especially afflicted by the dispute, and against 
them the Town of Piermont entered suits of ejectment for 
occupying lands which were claimed under the charter of that 
town. But the Proprietors of Haverhill had a common in- 
terest with Sanders and Eastman, as the loss of these lands 
would entail upon them a redistribution of shares in compen- 
sation to Sanders and Eastman. Accordingly, at an early 
date, 1770, they came to the aid of the distressed occupants 
of the disputed territory, and voted to "pay Messrs. San- 
ders and Eastman for any charge or costs which hath [arisen] 
or may arise to said Sanders and Eastman in defending them- 
selves against any action or actions which the Proprietors of 
Piermont have commenced against them or either of them." 
The year following a proposition was made at a Proprietors' 
meeting to submit the- disputed boundary to referees, but the 
})roposition was ].)romptly voted down, and John Hazen, Asa 
Porter and Charles Johnston were appointed agents to assist 
Sanders and Eastman in carrying on the suits which were 
commenced against them by the town of Piermont. 

Four years later the boundary question again came up at 
a 1^'oprietors' meeting, and a committee was ap[)ointed with 
full powers to act with a committee of Piermont to settle the 
disputed boundary "either by themselves or by leaving it 



386 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

out to men." No definite progress seems to have been made, 
since at a Proprietors' meeting in 1779 a committee of five 
was appointed to "meet Col. Moulton and others of" the 
Proprietors of Piermont, agreeable to a letter received from 
Jonathan Moulton and others, at Col. Webster's at Ply- 
mouth on the 15th day of September, 1779, in order to 
come into some agreement to settle the boundary line be- 
tween Haverhill and Piermont." From which it may be in- 
inferred that between the years 1775 and 1779 some corre- 
spondence had been carried on in reference to the matter in 
controversy. However, nothing conclusive was achieved at 
the Plymouth conference, and another committee was chosen 
soon after, 1781, which was more successful in its work, and a 
final settlement was reached on the 18th of September, 1781. 

On the 11th of October following, at a Proprietors' meet- 
ing, it was voted to "■confirm and make valid in law the 
agreement made and entered into the 18th day of September 
last by and between Jonathan Moulton of Hampton and 
Richard Jenness of Rye, Esqs," who represented the Propri- 
etors of Piermont, and Asa Porter, Charles Johnston, Moses 
Dow, James Woodward, John Page, Amos Fisk, John 
Rich," who acted for the Proprietors of Haverhill. The 
conditions of the agreement are in these words : — "All the 
meadow-lots, all the house lots, and all the first division of 
100 acre lots as laid out and bounded by the said Proprie- 
tors of Haverhill, shall be and remain unto the said town- 
ship and Proprietors of Haverhill, and that all suits at law 
already commenced relative to the premises, and now pend- 
ing, shall cease and be no further prosecuted than is neces- 
sary to carry this argument into execution." The eastern 
line of the 100 acre lots is near the Union school house on 
Porter Hill. 

Thus ended this long and perplexing controversy between 
the two towns. At one time it was suggested by some of 
the proprietors that they apply for a new charter, as the 



MISCELLANEOUS. 387 

easiest way of a solution of the difficulties, but a majority 
firm in the conviction of their rights and resolute in their 
purpose to maintain the southern line as they understood it, 
rejected the suggestion. The river lands were a great prize 
and by far the most valuable part of the grant of Haverhill ; 
and at no point on the river were the intervals wider or more 
fertile than on a part of disputed territory, and the fathers 
of Haverhill stuck to their treasures with a tenacity worthy 
of human- nature. 

There is a vague tradition come floating down to the pres- 
ent time that the commissioners from Haverhill in settling 
the dispute, were more than a match for the commissioners 
who acted for the town of Piermont. However, the im- 
mense whet-stone ledges which have since been develoj)ed in 
this disputed territory, and out of which greater dividends 
have been made than from the rich meadows on the river, 
may be a compensation for the disadvantages which Pier- 
mont is supposed to have suffered in the settlement of the 
boundary question. 

In this settlement certain persons in Haverhill were 
divested of their 80 acre lots which were in the 3d Division, 
but they were re-embursed l)y lots given them in the 4th 
Division. In order to do so, the 100 acre lots of the 4th 
Division were reduced to 70 acre lots, so as to make u[) to 
each share-holder who lost by the settlement, an equal por- 
tion of land with the rest. 



THE VEimONT UNION. 

At one time the territory now constituting the state of 
Vermont Avas claimed both by New Hampshire and by Xew 
York. The governor of the Province of Xew Hampshire, 
under a royal commission, was given power to make grants 
of unoccupied lands within his government, and claiming the 
territory west of the Connecticut river, he granted a charter 



388 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

of the town-ship of Bennington, [Vt.,] to sundry individu- 
als. This was in 1749. Although the governor of New 
York protested against the action of Gov. Went worth, tlie 
hitter continued to grant charters as late as 17 64, and the 
number of these charters up to that year was 138. The 
matter of jurisdiction between the two Provinces being sul>- 
mitted for decision to the crown, resulted in favor of New 
York. New Hampshire withdrew^ her claim after this ver- 
dict, but the attempt of New York to deny the rights of 
those to whom grants had been given by New Hampshire, 
aroused great opposition and finally resulted in the organiza- 
tion of Vermont into an independent state. A constitution 
having been formed and adopted in 1778 by the townships 
w^hich received their charters from the governor of New 
Hampshire, their representatives assembled in the same year 
at Windsor, Vt., for the enactment of laws for the govern- 
ment of the new state. The legislature was immediately 
waited upon by a committee from sixteen towns in New 
Hampshire, representing "that their towns were not con- 
nected with any state wdth respect to their internal police," 
and asking that they might be admitted to become part of the 
new state. These towns extending along the river from 
Cornish to Dalton and including several towns back from the 
river, were as follows : Cornish, Lebanon, Dresden [Han- 
over] , Lyme, Orford, Piermont, Haverhill, Bath, Lyman, 
Apthorp [Littleton], Enfield, Canaan, Cardigan [Orange], 
Landaflf, Gunthwaite [Lisbon] , Morristown [Franconia] . 
A union was formed and the delegates from the sixteen New 
Hampshire towns took their seats with the delegates from 
Vermont. James Bailey was the representative from 
Haverhill. 

The reason for the application of these towns for admis- 
sion to the Vermont assembly at Windsor, was disaffection 
with the Provincial Government of New" Hampshire, so that 
for the years 1777-8, Grafton county refused to send a rep- 



MIS^CELLANEOUS. 389 

resentative to the Council oi- General Committee of Safety. 
But an event occurred soon after the Union was formed 
which led to its speedy dissolution. The sixteen towns east 
of the river requested that those towns be erected into a 
separate county. This the assembly refused, and as a con- 
sequence the towns east of the river withdrew. 

At this junction a new plan was developed. This was the 
formation of another imion whicli sliould also include the 
towns on both sides of the Connecticut river. This project 
was favored by what was known as the Dartmouth College 
party which was ambitious, it is said, to make Hanover the 
capital of a new state which was to include the Connecticut 
valley. A committee of representatives from towns on both 
sides of the river met at Cornish. Thirty-foiu* towns on 
the east side were in this new movement. ^Matters looked 
serious and there was danger of violent collision between 
New Hampshire and Vermont in regard to the river towns. 
Congress at last intervened and laid down the boundaries of 
Vermont : Connecticut river on the east and on the west a 
"line drawn twenty miles eastward of Hudson river to Lake 
Champlain." Vermont finally accepted the boundary of the 
state as thus laid down, and the representatives from the 
east side of the Connecticut river withdrew from the Ver- 
mont Assembly with indignation. (len. Washington also 
threw his influence into the scales against the formation of a 
state in the Connecticut valley. This last Union ended in 
17-^3. Col. Timothy Bedel and Joshua Howard were the 
delegates from Haverhill in the second Union. 

During all this time of conflict in regard to the disputed 
territory, Cols. Charles Johnston and Joim Hurd stood 
loyally by the Xew Hampshire authorities, and exerted them- 
selves, after the luiions were broken u[). in bringing back the 
revolted towns of (irafton county into harmony with and 
allegiance to the Xew Hampshire authorities. 



390 HISTORY OF HAVEKHILL. 

LIBKAKIES. 

The history of Haverhill libraries is neither brilliant nor 
long, thoufjli the endeavor of individuals to secure these 
needful means of an intelligent community are deserving of 
mention. The earliest attempt in this direction was in 1801, 
when a charter was secured for the incorporation of a library. 
It was called the " Social Library," and Charles Johnston 
was the chief mover in the matter. AVith him were associ- 
ated John Osgood, Israel Swan and John Page. Of the 
*iubsequent history of this library nothing is definitely known, 
but it would seem that it was afterwards, 1812, changed to 
*'Aurelian Social Library." Again, 1829, there were two 
libraries chartered, one called the "North Social Library," 
the other the "South Social Library," and these it is quite 
likely were continuations of the original "Social Library." 

There was ao'ain a lilirarv which came into existence about 
1845, which also was called the "Social Library," but in- 
(juiry fails to show that this last was a re-organization of that 
of 1829, though it is more than probable that it was, as the 
name would seem to indicate, and possibly some books be- 
lonoinfr to the earlier librarians, may have formed the nucleus 
of this last ; at least there are some books in it which were 
])rinted near the beginning of the present century. 

This last library contained about 250 volumes. The num- 
ber of books in the others cannot be learned, but })robably 
it was not large. 

In 1880 a library was organized known as the "Haverhill 
Library Association," and had its origin in the idea of furn- 
ishing useful and attractive reading for the young. Mrs. 
Augustus Whitney was the person who started the idea. 
Also, a reading-room was considered in the plan, but that 
was afterwards abandoned, and only the library was matured. 
The library opened with 90 volumes of new books, to which 
were added about 150 volumes from the defunct "Social 
Library" of 1845. Any person could become a member of 



MISCELLANEOUS. 31)1 

the ;issociatic»n and continue so, by the payment of" one doUar 
as the initiation tee, and a yearly tax of fifty cents. The 
original officers were Mrs. Charles B. Griswold, president : 
Mrs. George F. Putnam, vice-president ; Miss Kate McK. 
Johnston, librarian ; Mrs. (Iriswold, Mrs. Stephen Cuni- 
mings, ]Mrs. Whitney, Miss Johnston, committee on books. 

The librai-y has steadily grown from its foundation, about 
50 volumes being added each year, and much interest has 
been taken in its care and progress, until now it contains 
with the 150 volumes from the Social Library, about 750 
volumes of generally well and carefully selected books, many 
of them being standard works in different lines of knowl- 
edge. The library is an assured institution, and has a 
hopeful future of good .and usefulness to the community that 
sustains it. 

But its present great need is a library building, which at 
one time it was hoped might be su})plied before now, but 
which has not yet been realized. But this idea is not relin- 
(juished, and the friends of the library do not despair of see- 
ing a suitable home for this most praiseworthy institution. 



NEWSPAPERS. 

The newspaper made its appearance in Haverhill at the 
close of the last century. A small pa[)cr was published here 
for six months l)efore 1800 by Daniel Coverly, and Mosely 
Dunham also printed a magazine for a short time. These 
incipient endeavors to found the ])opular educator of our 
times was followed by the Coos Courier in INOS, but it 
was short-lived. The next attem})t was in IcSlH, when Syl- 
vester T. Goss started tiie New Hamj)shire Intelligence, 
which was really the first permanent newspaper printed in 
Haverhill and had a life of about seven years. He also 
printed the Evangelist, a religious paper. The material and 
press of the Intelligence afterwards passed into the hands of 



392 HISTORY OF HxWERHILL. 

John Kedinpf, Avho was the founder of the Democratic Repub- 
lican in 1828, and which was published with success and 
edited with ability by him till he went to Congress in 1840, 
when it passed into the hands of his brothers, H. W. and 
Silvester Keding, who continued its ])ublication till 18()o. 
This was by far the most influential paper ever j)ublished at 
the western county-seat. Meantime, other attempts were 
made at printing newspapers at Haverhill. The Masonic 
Cabinet, "designed for the benefit of Free and Accepted 
Masons," was established in 1824, but it lived only about 
two years. In 1827 the New Ham})shire Post and Grafton 
and Coos Advertiser was begun. This paper continued till 
1848. It was first owned by Atwood & Wool son. After- 
wards Atwood withdrew and John L. Bunce became })art 
proprietor, and later George S. Towle bought the paper and 
published it with much spirit till it was moved to Leba- 
non in 1848, the name being changed to Granite State 
AVhig. Other })apers were the Whig and Argus, Haverhill 
Herald ( Woodsville,) afterwards called Advertiser and 
Budget of Fun, the AVoodsville Enterprise, and the Olive- 
rian. All these were of short duration except the Enter- 
})rise which was established in 1883, and is now owned and 
published by Bittinger Bros., who also are the owners of the 
Cohos Steam Press from which the Grafton County Register 
is issued. This last paper made its first appearance Jan. 1, 
1886, and is now the only paper })ublished at the weslern 
county seat. The paper is clean, bright, and carefully 
edited and has a good field to work in. 

The outfit of the Cohos Steam Press is of the best mate- 
rial and machinery, and the oflice has a large and yearly 
increasing patronage. The pi'oprietors are college trained, 
understand the " art 2)reservative," and are sending off work 
which speaks for itself. Previous to the establishment of 
the Register, W. Cone ]\Iahurin bought the material of the 
Democratic Republican, and began the publication of the 



MISCELLANEOUS. 393 

(Irafton County Signal ; after two years he sold to fIosc})h 
W. Dunbar who continued the paper at Haverhill for about 
a year, then had it printed at Hanover, next at Littleton, 
when in a short time it was merged in the Littleton flour- 
nal. The history of newspapers in Haverhill is marked by 
varietv and numbers at least. 



TWO GKEAT TLAGIES. 

Two great disease-plagues fell upon the Town in its early 
liistory. The first as near as can be learned Avas in 1(S()3. 
This was the small-pox plague, and was very general and of 
a severe character. Two hos})ita]s, or pest-houses, as they 
were called, were built for the care of those who were at- 
tacked with the disease. One was located near the Oliverian 
on the north side at the foot of the high ground south of 
]\Ir. Flanders' house. The other was farther north, near 
where Mr. Jewett now lives. Both were remote from any 
dwelling, and were only visited by nurses and the doctor. 
Dr. Carleton was the physician at that time. Miss Cross 
related to me an amusing incident of her brother AVilliam 
who was an inmate. He became convalescent amongst the 
first, and was able to be around. On one occasion he got 
on the roof of the little hospital, and waved the red Hag and 
began to crow, so as to make his fellow ])estites feel jolly. 
His j)ranks were (juite anuising to his sicker companions. 
In Cijusequence of the severity of the disease many died. 
Hmall-pox has visited tlie Town since in general form on 
several occasions, when the whole po[)idation was vaccinated, 
l)ut the disease of subsequent years was not as severe as that 
of 1S03. This is due no doubt to tlie discovery of vaccina- 
tion which took place in ITiMi. 

The other })higue was in ISI"), mid was known :is the 
" spotted fever" or '' black plague." It prevailed in other 



394 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

places, notably in "Warren, where the death-rate was fear- 
ful, almost whole fiimilies and neighborhoods being swept 
away, and the disease seemed to baffle all medical skill and 
treatment. When the plague fell upon Warren, people 
called to mind many omens the year before of a sad coming, 
but this was due more likely to an alarmed imagination under 
which tlie people suffered in the presence of the dread enemy, 
than to any real signs or wonders of its advent. The dis- 
ease in Haverhill was of a milder form, and little seems to 
l)e known of it, except the fact that it was somewhat preva- 
lent, l^ersons taken with the disease were seized with chills 
and fever, and their bodies were covered with spots, so that 
the disease was called " spotted fever '" from this fact. Death 
often followed soon after the disease came on. After death 
the bodies turned black, and this gave the name of "black 
fever." Burials took place immediately after death, as the 
disease was thought to be very contagious, and often in the 
night when no one was around but the undertaker and some 
one to assist him. The people were awe-stricken by the 
suddenness with which persons were seized, seemingly in the 
enjoyment of good health. It began in the early autumn 
and did not cease till the severe winter weather. Dr. Well- 
man, a very prominent physician of Piermont, went to War- 
ren to aid the sufferers and fell a victim of its ravages. 



BANKS. 

The first bank in Haverhill was chartered' in 1803, and 
was called the "Coos Bank." It had a capital of $100,000, 
and Cieorge Woodward, the lawyer, was the first cashier. 
The charter was renewed in 1821, but the name of the bank 
was changed to " Grafton Bank " from January 1st, 1822. 
The charter was renewed again in 1846, and extended in 
1857, but the bank was not continued after the latter date. 
The "Grafton County Bank" was incor|)oratcd, with a 



MISCELLANEOUS. 395 

ciipitiil of $1()(),0()0,) but the bank never went into opera- 
tion. There was also a charter in I^IU for a savings bank, 
calletl the "■Grafton County Savings Bank," but the bank 
was never organized. The Cohos Bank and its continuation 
under the name of Grafton Bank, was the only l)ank in the 
county for many years, and was a strong and influential 
monitary institution. The Lebanon Bank was not incorpo- 
rated till 1828, and the Lancaster Bank till 1832. 



HANGINGS. 

Haverhill as the shire-town has' been the scene of several 
executions for capital crimes. The first person hung in 
Haverhill was a mulatto, Thomas Palmer of Lebanon, con- 
victed in May, 17!>n, on a charge of rape, and ordered to be 
hung on July 8th, but a reprieve was granted until July 
28th, when the execution took place. David AVebster was 
sherif!'. Hangings then were in public. 

The next execution was that of Josiah liurnham, who 
killed Kussell Freeman, Esq., and Capt. Joseph Stark- 
weather. Burnham and his victims were in prison for debt, 
and occupied the same room. The cause of Burnham's 
murderous assault is not known, as the prisoners had con- 
ducted themselves with general mildness and submission 
whilst confined together. Burnham in his speech from the 
gallows says, "I was carried away with my passions," from 
which it may be inferred that the prisoners had got into a 
dispute which led to the fatal act. The deed was done with 
a double-edged knife which Burnham, it seems, had con- 
concealed on his person when he was put in jail, and the 
crime was committed in the evening of the 17th of Decem- 
ber, 1805. Both victims died of their wounds on the 18th. 
Indictments were found in both instances at the May term, 
180G, and Burnham was tried, convictel, and sentenced to 
be huns: on the 15th of Julv between the hours of 12 m. 



396 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

and two p. m. But application being made to the Governor 
for a postponement of execution, on the ground that the 
prisoner "may have a further time to prepare for death," 
the application was granted, and the 12th day of August 
next between the Iiours of 10 a. m. and 2 p. m. was set for 
carrying the sentence into effect. Da^•id Webster was 
sheriff. 

The hanofino: of Burnham was a o;reat occasion. It is 
estimated that fully 10,000 people gathered on the west side 
of Powder House hill, where the execution took place. 
They came from near and far, in carts and in wagons, on 
horse-back and on foot, old men and young men, beaux and 
lassies, mothers with babes in their arms, and even invalids. 
The event took place with much ceremony. A military 
guard escorted the prisoner from the jail to the scaffold, and 
a long sermon, preceded by singing and prayer, was preached 
by the Rev. David Southerland of Bath to the inunense 
concourse of peo[)le who listened with deep emotion to the. 
preacher. After these were ended Burnham was given an 
opportunity to address the multitude, which he did in a fal- 
tering and broken speech, the substance, however, of which 
was a confession of his crime and the justice of his punish- 
ment. One suggestive thing he mentions in his speeclu 
which illustrates the ])eculiar theological bias of the times, 
vis., that he had been a believer in the doctrine of universal 
salvation, and but for this he would not have committed the 
crime for which he was about to suffer, and he admonished 
his hearers to beware of this doctrine. He was entirely un- 
moved during all the ordeal at the gallows, evincing not the 
slightest feeling at the eloquence and impressive words of 
the preacher, which melted the vast audience into tears and 
sobbing. 

The next execution was that of Enos G. Dudley for the 
murder of his wife. Dudley was from Grafton, and was a 
Methodist minister. He committed the crime in ]\farc]i, 



MrscELLANp:ous. 397 

184y, was tried and convicted in Januarv, l^i-id at a special 
term, and sentenced to be hung- in May, 1849. He was 
hung in the jail yard. Joseph Powers was sheriff. 

The other capital punishment was that inflicted on Samuel 
Mills, an Englishman who was at work in the mines at Lis- 
bon. He was indicted in March, 1867, for the murder of 
George Maxwell at Franconia in December, 1866, convicted 
in March, 1867, and sentenced to be hung on the first 
Wednesday in May, 1867. Grove S. Stevens was sheriff. 

Mills is said to have been a desperate fellow, and at one 
time during his confinement in the county jail he broke loose, 
but was re-taken, and finally suffered the penalty of his 
crime. The execution was not in public. 



CYCLONE. 

During the history of the Town the usual number of more 
than ordinarily severe storms has visited its borders. One, 
however, surpassed all others in its fierceness. It struck the 
south-east part of the Town on Sunday, Sept. 9, 1821, be- 
ginning at a point a little eastward of the late Alonzo W. 
Putnam place, and moved in a north-east direction across the 
unbroken forest, reaching the high land just south of where 
the East Haverhill depot stands, and then passed to Owls 
Head beyond. The gale was so violent that a path was cut 
through the forest, prostrating every thing before it, as a 
scythe would cut grass through a field. The marks of this 
cyclone remained visible for many years in the immense hem- 
locks which strewed its pathway, even after the undergrowth 
had obscured its course. No lives were lost and no houses 
or barns were destroyed, as the path of the cyclone was 
through unknown forest. 



398 HISTOKY OF HAVERHILL. 

POWDER HOUSE. 

This land-mark stood on a high knoll on the left hand side 
of the road leading from the corner to the Brook, and gave 
name to the eminence on which it stood, Powder House 
hill. It was built in 1812, and was a magazine stone-house 
during the War of 1812. This section then, as during the 
Revolution, was a point of exposure, and troops were sta- 
tioned on the frontier north. It was built of massive slabs 
of granite about twelve feet square, and was a landmark for 
three-quarters of a century, when it was taken down and the 
stones used in the construction of a receiving vault at the 
cemetery on Ladd street. It was an unfortunate thing that 
this ancient land-mark was not allowed to stand and to be 
restored to its primitive condition. This the more so, as 
there are very few monuments of any sort that link the pres- 
ent with the past. The first churches are gone, and only a 
few of the earlier houses that are at all historic are left, — 
the old Bliss (Leith) house, the Col. Johnston house, and a 
few others so changed in outward appearance as hardly to be 
recognized. Powder House, built of solid granite, the last 
to disappear, yielded to the behest of utilitarianism. I fear 
the Town is not as deeply imbued with a sentiment for the 
past, as ought to inspire her, in view of her historic charac- 
ter. We have truly been iconoclasts. 

STE a:\iboats. 

Haverhill at one time enjoyed the convenience if not the 
luxury of steam-navigation. In 1830 the first steamboat 
ascended the Connecticut river as far as Wells River. The 
name of the boat was "Ledyard.'' An attempt was made 
to go u}) further, but just above the "Narrows" the boat 
strvick a sand-bar which could not be got over. The boat 
came from Hartford, Conn., and made only one trip. Two 
years later the " Connecticut River and Transportation Com- 



MISCELLANEOUS. 81*9 

pany" put on five boats to run between Hartford, Conn., 
and Wells River, Vt. These boats made trips during the 
summer of 1832, and were then taken oft", and the project 
of navigating the up})er waters of the Connecticut by steam 
was abandoned. The water was found to be too uncertain, 
even at that day, and the great bends in the river at \ arious 
points made the channel unstable on account of the shifting 
sands. 



MAKING CIDER. 

Cider-making was not an institution peculiar to our fore- 
fathers, but it Avas nuich more of an occasion than it is now, 
especially with the young Avho looked forward to tlie day 
with liveliest anticipations. The girls had no part in this 
work, unless perhaps it was picking up the apples before 
they were carried to the mill, as it was called. But this fell 
mostly to the boys. ]\Iaking cider was hard work with all 
the fun there was in it for the younger folks. The farm 
hands started out early on crisp October mornings. The 
apples were crushed by large cog-wheels driven by a ci-ank, 
to which a horse was hitched, walking around in a circle, 
and the apples in passing through these wheels made a 
peculiar didl groan, as if protesting against being so unmer- 
cifully squeezed. One or two boys, with wooden paddles, 
sat on a board lying across the tank into which the apple- 
pulp fell, to scrape out the i)ulp between the large cogs. 
The grinding usually consumed the greater part of the morn- 
ing, after which began the building ot the cheese on a plank- 
bed, near the edge of which was a canal to conduct tlie cider 
as it oozed from the cheese to the receiver at one side. The 
cheese was perhaps three or four feet square, and built in 
this way — a twisted rope of clean bright rye-straw, two or 
three inches thick, was laid down inside the canal and the 
j)ulp was filled into above the level of this, and then another 



400 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

rope of straw was laid on the top of the first, and so on, 
tier after tier of straw and pulp, till the cheese rose to the 
height of three or four feet. Later, a crib took the place of 
the straw-cheese. The earliest press was a powerful frame 
witli an immense log twenty or more feet long, fastened be- 
tween two large upright pieces. The cheese was at the 
fastened end of the log, while the other end was let down 
on the cheese, the latter acting as a fulcrum and the log as an 
immense lever. Long before the log was let down on the 
cheese the cider began to flow in rivulets by the pressure of 
the cheese as it grew in height, and as the boys were through 
at the cog-wheels, and there was little for them to do now, 
they had armed themselves with rye straws and like busy 
bees were hanging on the edge of the canal sucking the 
sweet cider as it flowed along. Oh, the jolly fun of sweet 
cider sucked at the press through a straw ! It was a joy 
almost for ever, for a boy could manage to "put himself 
outside " of an immense quantity of apple juice, and for an 
indefinite time. His stomach took on an elasticity which 
would discourage the most yielding gutta percha, and sue:- 
fjested the thouo:ht of a bottomless reservoir. Then later 
in the afternoon, often in the twilight, tlie tired company 
drove home, hard to say which was fullest, the boys or the 
barrels. But a glorious time was cider-making on a dreamy 
October day. 



TEAMING. 

Early roads were rude and diflicult to draw loads o^er, 
but as the years rolled on they were improved, so that teams 
went back and forth from the Cohos Country to Boston, 
Portsmouth, Salem, Newburyport, and wherever they could 
find a market for the products of the soil and the forests, and 
l)rought back on the return trip such articles as were needed 
in the new country. In summer great teams of six and 



MISCELLAXKOUS. 401 

eiglit horses witli ooverecl wagons passed over the roads, 
many of which came down from Vermont. 

There were also numerous teams of pods and ])ungs, one 
and two horse sleighs in winter, with tlieir bells that made 
the cris}) air jingle with music mingled with the shouts of the 
drivers. The road from Haverhill to Warren was the "-reat 
thoroughfare to "down below" from the Cohos Country, so 
that these caravans or trains of pungs and pods were often a 
half mile or more in leno-th. Frozen hoes, butter, cheese 
and poultry, mink, fox, sable and bear skins, sheep-pelts, 
and all articles of country produce was carried in this way 
to market. Taverns were numerous along the way, and 
were filled in the night with teams and travelers, many of 
whom carried with them their own food of cold meat and 
fowl, pies, cake, and cheese, and only took lodgings and drink 
at the tavern. jNIany also carried their oats for the teams. 
They made the country lively along the route, and the trips 
with now and then an accident or dismal few days of thaw, 
were full of jollity and incident. The children at home 
would listen with wonder at the recitations of what was seen 
in the jxreat towns "below." 



TRAINING-DAY. 

The annual muster was the great day of the year in former 
times, when the colonel who led his regiment in the march 
with flying colors and stirring strains of music, felt prouder 
than a French marshal under the First Emperor. The com- 
panies Avere not indeed the truest and steadiest that ever 
were, nor were they exactly Falstaff's miscellaneous crowd, 
but they presented a somewhat pictures([ue and striking ap- 
pearance — all ages, all sizes, hump-back and bow-legged, 
thick and slender, tall and short, erect and bent, but all 
inspired with a true military spirit. Who of those still liv- 
ino; of a former ijeneration does not call to mind trainini;- 



402 HISTORY OF havp:khill. 

day with vivid recollections ! None were prouder of" their 
position on such occasions than tlie drummers and fif'ers, 
some <jf whoui were remarkably skillful and adept, and could 
awaken music in the dullest breast. It Avas this music that 
so filled the hearts of the boys and quickened the blood in 
the veins of the old men. 

And everbody went to the general muster. Bright and 
early the entire population was on the move, over hills and 
along valleys, on foot, on horse-back, in shays and wagons, 
young and old, women and children, peddlers, showmen, 
victuallers. All around the parade-ground were tents and 
booths, where could be bought ginger-bread, nuts, candy, 
cider, beer, and something more tonic. Here peddlers 
shouted themselves hoarse in their frantic efforts to sell their 
wares to the hundreds that thronged the i)arade-ground. 
The showman's tent was well patronized by the curious and 
eager, and country beaux led their sweetliearts from place to 
place, to see the sights and to watch the maniruvers and 
marches and sham fight of the proud soldiers. At the close 
()f the nuister, after feasting on the attractions of the booths 
and tents, and drinking in to the fill the unabated excite- 
ments of the day, the multitude turned their foot-steps home- 
ward, tired and with less elastic tread than it came in the 
morning, and with a feeling almost akin to disgust that so 
much was endured for the short fun and pleasure they got, 
but next year found tliem just as eager as ever, and the same 
great crowds thronged the muster-field. INIany were the in- 
cidents of these times that were told over in the long autumn 
and winter evenings by those who " went to muster." When 
the muster came to Haverhill the parade-ground was at 
Horse meadow, or in the field east the of Ladd street ceme- 
tary. The soldiers wore white pantaloons and dark coats, 
and were furnished with arms. Officers Avere in full uniform. 
Marching and counter-marching, in companies, in battalions, 
in full regimental ranks was the drill of the day, the whole 



MISCKLLANKOIS. 40H 

eiKlin<j with a ^hain fiijht Aviiich \va.s attended with the <ifreat- 
est excitement, and filled the crowds as well as the soldiers, 
with the utmost enthusiasm and military zeal. Every l)ov 
Ionised impatiently tor the day when he coidd [)articipate in 
these scenes and have his sweetheart watch his martial ste[> 
with swelling heart. Oh, the muster-days that were and are 
not I 



THE (JKEAT ACCIDENT. 

In the year 1844, during the Polk and Clay canij)aign, 
there was a mass meeting at Haverhill on the 4th of July ot 
the followers of " Gallant Harry of the West." Distin- 
guished speakers were invited to address the crowds that 
came in from the surrounding country both in Xew Hamj)- 
shire and Vermont. In the evening there was to he a LCreat 
display of fire-works. In those times such things were more 
of a novelty than they are at the present day. Cannon 
boomed morninii", noon and evening, and when the curtains 
of night had sufficiently shut out all signs of day, every 
thing was in readiness for the pyi'otechnic display. Immense 
crowds gathered in the vicinity of the Columbian Hotel, 
where the fire-works were to be set off. This hotel stood on 
the site where Mr. Nathaniel M. Page now lives. The bal- 
conies of the hotel which reached to the third floor were 
packed with a mass of eager persons who had ciowded there 
to see the fire-works. Just as the first rocket was to be set 
off, the crowd in the balconies lurched forward to see, when 
crash ! down came the upper balcony with its living freight 
of men, women and children, and all were jtrccipitatcd into 
one promiscuous mass of ruin. A death-silence reigned for 
a moment as the mass came down, and then a fearful cry of 
despair aroSe from the wounded and living. One person, a 
young girl, was instantly killed by a falling timber, and 
many others were borne away helpless and wounded. Se^•- 



404 HISTORY OF HAVEUHILL. 

eral died from injuries which were then received, whilst 
others never recovered from the effects of the disaster, and 
the village was a hospital for some weeks. And so ended 
the great Claj rally of 1884. 



THE GREAT FIRE. 

Haverhill has had her great fire which in proportion to the 
size of the village, was as disastrous and extensive as the 
great fires of large cities whose losses mount into the mil- 
lions. This was in 1848 when the stage lines were still in 
full tide of operation. The number of buildings burnt were 
seven, and these were amongst the largest and most valuable 
properties at the Corner. Two were private dwellings stand- 
ing south of the Brick Block, and owned and occupied by 
John R. Reding and Col. John McClarey. One was the 
large and famous Towle tavern, and the others were business 
places which were situated on the ground which the Brick 
Block now occupies. The four houses were separated by 
narrow alleys. The fire caught in the Towle tavern by de- 
fective flue, and before the fire-engine could be got ready or 
water secured, was beyond control. The wind was from the 
northwest, and but for that circumstance the Smith hotel and 
all of north INIain street would have been at the mercy of the 
devouring flames. As it was, jNIilo Bailey's house caught 
fire, but by the most super-human exertion the house was 
deluged with water and the flames were stayed from going- 
further north. A double line of men being formed from the 
burning building to a large reservoir on the south park, and 
pails of water were rapidly passed to and fro and dashed 
upon the burning roof and sides. But in the other direction 
building after building fell a prey to the devouring element, 
with no hope of arresting it, till by the intervention of a 
wider space between the old Dea. Barstow place and the 
Grafton Bank building, which the flames did not leap, the 



MISCELLANK<Ji;s. 405 

fire was hnnight to a stand and t'nrthei' destruction was ar- 
rested. The Brick Block took the j)hice of the tour huild- 
inji's which stood on the uround. These l)uihlings were 
owned and occu})ie(l l)v William C'ununings, general mer- 
chandise : W. S. Thomj)son, merchant ; Henry Towle, jew- 
eler ; K. X. Brown, tin-smith: John R. Keding, ])rinter. 
The post-office was in the Keding building. The loss was 
heavy and severely felt hy the place, from which it only par- 
tially rallied with utmost difficulty. This great calamity 
taken in connection with the sto[)))ing of the stage lines in a 
few years, marked the [)oint where Haverhill saw her proud- 
est day ended, and the glory of former times departing for- 
ever, unless her citizens become imbued with a larger 
public spirit, and open her natural advantages to the flow of 
tides of enterprise which are coursing along these valleys and 
sweeping up to the foot-hills and mountains. 



FIRST .lEIlSEY STOCK. 

Haverhill has the honor of being first in this region, if not 
in Grafton county, as regards the introduction of Jersey 
stock. The first animal of this famous breed I)rought to 
Haverhill was a full blooded bull calf from Belmont, Mass., 
and was owned by K. A. Filley of St. Louis. This was in 
January, 18()(), and the animal was i)laced on the farm of 
the late Hon. Joseph Powers. Afterwards several full 
blooded Jersey heifers were added, and the stock was in- 
creased from time to time by purchase and ])roducti()n, until 
it became famous in (irafton county and in \'ei-mont, and 
tVoiu which for a number of years full bloods were sent to 
diffi-rent parts of the surrouniling country. When the fJer- 
scys were first brought to Haverhill, Mr. Filley was blamed 
for introducino" such lookin<f cattle, but their ureat value for 
the dairy were soon learned, and now flerscy cows either 
])ure or mixed are the rule with fai'mers. The herd of -lei- 



40 () HISTOKY OK HAN KKHILL. 

sey COW* now on the Powers farm owned by JNIrsi. Filley, is 
one of the choicest in all this section. 



A ROMANCE. 

Elsewhere is mentioned the fact of a famous willow, hut 
in the biographical chapters, is in (huiger of being overlooked 
by the majority of readers, just as the average Bible reader 
skips the books of Kings and Chronicles because they seem 
little more than a catalogue of names. 80 I give the story 
a new lease of life amongst the miscellaneous, which are sure 
to be read by everybody. 

This willow stands on Ladd street near James Wood- 
ward's. It measures over seventeen feet in girth, and gives 
every evidence ot having been a mute witness to a century 
of Ladd street history. It has lost much of its top, and the 
trunk is now in a state of considerable decay. The year of 
its ])lanting was 17^10, and Samuel Ladd, Jr., was a bright 
and liandsome inn-keeper of a hotel just back of where the 
willow stands. 

This willow has a veiy romantic story connected with it. 
In this same rear Dr. flonathan Arnold of St. Johnsbury, 
who was a lonely bachelor, went to C'harlestown to spy out 
a wife, in which mission after some entreaty he was success- 
ful in winning the heart of Cynthia Hastings, and arrange- 
ments were inuiiediately m;vde foi' tln'ir marriage and return 
to St. .Tohnsburv. The journey was made on horse-back, 
and on the morning ot their start a roguish cousin of the 
young l)ride handed her a willow stick with the request that 
she might need it to urge on her horse when its s[)irits needed 
quickening, and after she got through with it for that [)ur- 
pose, she might plant it by the door of her second husband. 
The last words were a sly hit at the Doctor's age, which was 
consideral)ly al)ove that of his young bride. The willow 
stick, however, was accepted in good part, and the journey 



MISf'ELLAVF.Ors. 407 

was ht'iiiin. ( )n tlie evenini:' of the second day they aiTi\ed 
at Haverhill, aiid stoj)[)ed at the inn of Sauiuel Ladd, fir., 
for the night. The next morning as they were ready to 
proceed on their way the gallant landlord presented Mr,s. 
Arnold with a new stick, and the old one was left behind. 
After Dr. Arnold and his hride liad started out, the willow 
stick was planted in the door-yard, and came to be the large 
tree now standing on the site of the Samuel Ladd tavern. 
Dr. .Vrnold died within a few years, and his voung widow 
on her way to Charlestown to visit her friends, had occasion 
to spend the night in Haverliill at the Ladd tavern. Being 
invited to make her home at the Ladd inn whenever she had 
occasion to pass that way, she accepted tiie courteous invita- 
tion, and afterwards became the wife of the friendly young 
landlord, and saw the willow stick which her cousin pre- 
sented to her on the morning of her first marriage, grow to 
be a large tree, and his good natured mock-words turned 
into a prophecy. 



TIIK nCl.MHKR STOIIY. 

The story of a maunnoiith cucumber \\liich grew in IIa\- 
erliill in the sunuuer of 1^21), 1 get from the late John L. 
Bunce of Hartford, Conn., through his daughter. Miss Alice, 
who often heard her father relate it. Mr. Bunce was at that 
time living in Haverhill, and was president of the (rrafton 
bank. The cucinnber gi-ew in the garden back of the bank- 
liouse, and reached the extraordinary length of over ten feet. 
It was taken to Orford to a fair, and unfortunately when the 
cuciunbi'r perished, none of the seeds were saved. riie 
original seed, it is said, came from Rutland, \ t. TUc box 
in which it was carried to the fair was afterwards u>vd in a 
hotel stable in ( )rfbrd to run oats from a bin in the l)arn to 
the stables below. 

The storv of the cucumber was also told me l)v the Hon. 



408 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

John K. Kediii":, and the eorroberation of the truthfuhiess 
of the story is so striking, that T give it in his own words as 
near as I recall them. Mr. Reding went to Congress from 
the fifth district in 1841, and was then living in Haverhill. 
When members got tired in the routine duty of the House, 
they were accustomed to gather in social groups in the smok- 
ing room or lobby below, and amuse each other with stories, 
some of which were very extravagant. One day ]\Ir. Red- 
ing ventured to " put on the market" tlie Haverhill cucum- 
ber story, and after he got through, all his brcjther-members 
in the smoking-room gathered around him and good naturedly 
proffered him their hats in token of his l)eing the " cham- 
pion liar," and for some days after they asked him to repeat 
the story, as it seemed so apparently to be made of whole 
clotli, which was rather annoying to Mr. R. 

Before long, however, ]\Ir. Reding ha[)[)ened to be s[)cak- 
iiiii: with Mr. Herrick of Maine, who was in Congress with 
him, when the latter said, " I believe, Mr. Reding, your 
home is in Haverhill." " Yes, sir." " ^Vell, a good many 
years ago I was engaged in surveying a canal route from 
Lake Champlain to the sea, and I passed the greater part of 
the sunnner in Haverhill, and have many i)leasant recollec- 
tions of the place." "Pray, what year was it?" " Tliat 
was in l(S2(i." Mr. Reding at once thought of the cucum- 
l)er story, and this might be his chance. " Well, Mr, Her- 
rick, while you were in Haverhill did you ever hear any 
thing about a monster cucumber that grew there about that 
time?" " Oh, yes ; it was the summer I was in Haverhill. 
Every body went to see it. I went to see it myself one day, 
and as I passed the tailor's sho[», I stej)[)ed in to get some 
paper-ta{)e which tailors then used for measuring, to measure 
the cucumber with. It grew in a garden l)ack of the bank- 
house. I forget who was president of the bank." " Mr. 
Bunce?" '' Yes, that's the name. The cucumber measured 
ten feet and ten inches." "You're sure of that, Mr. Her- 



:\IIsrELLANKOUS. 4011 

rick V "' "Yes, I'lu perfectly sure, tor a few days before 1 
left for AVashington I was looking over some [)aj)ers, and 
among them I found the identical paper-tape ineasiire, and 
on it iva.s written, the length of the cKcnmber^ as I meas- 
ured it," 

Shortly after, Mr. Keding was again in tiie smoking-room, 
when his bi'other-members, calling him, said, "• Reding, tell 
us that cucumber story." He said nothing, but beckoning to 
his side a page, he directed him to go u[) to the House, and 
tell Mr. Herrick from ^Nlaine, tiiat a gentleman wished to see 
him in the smoking-room. In a few moments Mr. Ilerrick 
made his a})pearance, when ]\Ir, Keding said, " Mr. Herrick, 
I want you to tell these gentlemen the story about the mon- 
ster cucumber that grew in Haverhill, in my state." Mr. 
Herrick, entirely ignorant of what had been going on, told 
the story to his fellow congressmen exactly as he had told it 
to Mr. Reding a little while before. When he got through, 
the members by unanimous vote transferred the " clianqjion 
liarship " from Mr. Reding to the gentleman from Maine. 
But one wag remarked, "■ Mr. Reding, you have got New 
Ham})shire out of the scrape pretty well, but the story sticks 
to New Enirland." 



LOCAL NAMES, 

Different sections and neighborhoods of the Town were 
designated by different names which were early given to 
them, and which had their origin in various circumstances. 
Beginning at the south end of the Town, there is tiie locality 
known as the " Corner." This name was given to it from 
the fact that in the settlement of the boundary (piestion be- 
tween Piermont and H;nerhill, a jog was formed in the dis- 
puted territory which was known as the " Corner." 'V\\v 
name which at first was aj)plied to the territory, was ai'tcr- 
wards o-iven as a local name to the villaii'e of Haverhill, so 



410 HISTOIIY OF HAVEKHILL. 

that the vilhige is often called " Haverhill Corner." The 
territory lying east of the village, and forming part of the 
jog in the Town, was early known as " Out-on-the turn- 
pike," and extended somewhat indefinitly from the village 
eastward, and got its name from the old " Cohos Turn[)ike'" 
which passed through it. From the foot of the hill nt)rth- 
ward of Haverhill village, to beyond the Oliverian as far as 
cemetery road, Avas called " 01i\erian Village."' In later 
times this localitv has been generally known as " The 
Brook." Beginning at the cemetery road and extending to 
the foot of the hill beyond James AVoodward's, to this sec- 
tion was given the name of " Ladd street," so called from 
the fact that at one time a number of j)ersons by the name 
of Ladd lixcd in this [)ai't of the Town. Xo one of that 
name is now living there ; the families have either died out 
or moved away. "Dow Plain" is a locality where (xen. 
JNIoses Dow, a prominent lawyer and citizen of Haverhill, 
owned a large farm and is still often called by his name. 
This })lain is situated south of Pool brook, where the River 
road going north turns sharp to the east after crossing a deep 
ravine. The road formerly ran along the hluifs overlooking 
the river, but has lonsf since been chanj^ed, leavinsr the ^ Dow 
Farm " buildings a little north-west of the present road. 
At the foot of the hill descending from the Dow Plain, is a 
locality on the right hand of the road, which was known by 
the bibulous name of '' Toddy Brook." A little stream of 
clear, fresh water runs close by the road, at which in former 
days horses used to l>e watered. The name "Toddy Brook," 
tradition says, was given to it from this circumstance. Many 
years ago some one was coining down the hill from Dow 
Plain with a barrel of rum in his wagon, when the barrel got 
loose and rolled from the wagon into the brook and was 
broken, mingling its contents with the water. " Slab City" 
was a name early used to designate North Haverhill and the 
plain on whicii the village is built, and is said to have origi- 



MIsCKLLANEOrs. 411 

iKitetl ill this wav. It was tlu' fashion years aui> when Swa- 
sey's saw-mill was tnrninu- out laruc (|uaiitities of liunijer, for 
the peuj)le in that section to use the slahs in building their 
fences and in hattoning the roofs of tlieir houses and barns. 
The slabs were furnished at \ery little cost, and this was an 
inducement for their ueneral use, and so gave rise to the 
local name of the [)lace. The locality on the Kiver road 
north of Xorth ILiverhill village, is km)wn as " Horse 
meadow," a section of territory about a mile long. This 
name was given to it as noted in the ;u'ticle headed " Horse 
meadow" in this cha[)ter. Next north of this is the " Kim- 
ball neighborhood," so called on account of several families 
of that name that li\ed there. ( )nc of these was Col. John 
Kiniliall who was a prominent man in the Town and deacon 
of the church at the Xorth End. " Woodsville," which has 
now passed the stage of a mere local name, got its name 
from fJolm L. \\'oods, an extensive lumber dealer years ago, 
who lived in that neighborhood, and was the owner of the 
mills and lands near the north of the Ammonoosuc. East- 
ward of ^^'oods\ ille some two miles is "Sanborn Hill." a 
locality which was so called becau-^c a man by that name 
owned a farm on that hill. He was known as " Uncle 
Argy," — the 7 being pronounced hard, — and this name was 
given to him from the fact that in expressing his ideas or 
opinions al)out any matter, he was accustomed to say, " I 
argy," meaning I ariiue. " liriar Ilill" is the local nanu; 
of a se(;tion in the north-eastern j)art of the Town, a farm- 
ing region of considerable extent, occu[>ied early by several 
families by the name of Carr, whose descendants still con- 
tinue there, 'i'his region was very proliHc in i)lackbcrry and 
ras[)berrv bushes which were called briars, from which cir- 
cumstance the neighborhood was called " Hriar Hill." To 
the south of Vivhiv Ilill is the '* Wilson neighborhood," 
which took its name from two brothers that lived there. 
"The Centre" is a name given to the central i)art of the 



412 HISTORY OK HAVERHILL. 

Town, which is also blessed with another name, " Bangers- 
town," and which had its origin in the following incident. 
A company of shingle-makers were engaged in manufactur- 
ing shingles in the })ine woods in this part of the Town. 
Near by lived a family by the name t»f Hildreth. One of 
the sons, P^phraim, had a notorious re})utation for his extrava- 
gant stories, though he was not a malicious person, and was 
not known to tell these to the injury of any of his neighbors. 
Usually, he was the hero of his (jwn wild tales. On one 
occasion the story-teller, whilst making a visit to the camp of 
the " shingle-weavers," as they were famili;irly called, was 
entertaining them with his pretended travels in "■ York 
State, ' which was in those days the far West of the ci\ ilized 
part of the country. Taking it for grantc<l that no one of 
his hearers had been as far west as he claimed to have been, 
he told them of a number of places which he said he had 
visited, and to which without the least hesitation he gave 
fictitious names. One of his amused auditors, knowing his 
})ropensity, asked him if in his journey he had gone to 
Bangerstown. " Oh, yes," was the j)rompt reply, and then 
he went on with a full description of the [)lace. Meantime, 
the uicn had given to each other the knowing wink, and 
were enjoying the joke which had been played on him, when 
Ephraim seeing that he had been caught at his own game, 
owned up and declared that there was no such place. The 
story of course got round, and the region was thereafter 
known as " Bangerstown." North of " The Centre" is the 
" Swiftwater road and French pond neighborhood." The 
eastern j)art of the Town on the Oliverian was early known 
as " P]ast Haverhill," but that name is no longer a local 
(inc. The " North Benton road " is a name which desig- 
nates a neighborhood along that road. The "Bath road," 
as it was more generally called in former times, leading from 
Haverhill depot north-east to Swiftwatei', was also used as a 



MISCKLLAXEOUS, 413 

local name tor the region throuiih wliicli the road runs. 
And so of " Brush-wood road." 

Some of these names are more local and Hmited in tlieir 
use, whilst others pass current amongst the people all over 
the Town, and are employed in common speech to designate 
localities which are as well understood as the name of the 
Town itself. 



MASONRY. 

A lodge of Free jMasons was organized in June, 1799. 
Gen. Moody Bedel and others had petitioned for a lodge in 
January previous, and their request was granted by the 
Grand Lodge. The time appointed for the inauguration of 
the lodge was June, 1790, and Grand Master Nathaniel 
Adams of Portsmouth was present to organize the same and 
to install the officers. Who the officers were the records do 
not show, but in all probability they were among those 
named in the charter, and perha[)s in the order named. The 
names in the charter are Michael Barron [of Bradford, Yt., 
probably] ; John ^Montgomery, Moody Bedel, William Wal- 
lace, [Bradford, Vt.] ; Arad Stebbins, [Bradford, Yt.] ; 
Andrew B. Peters, [Bradford, Vt.] ; Joseph Bliss, William 
Cross, Artemus Nixon, John Haley, AVilliam Lambert, and 
Amasa Scott. The services were public and were held, 
probably in the " meeting house," as Grand Master Adams 
wrote the connnittee of arrangement to " request of Mr. 
Smith j)ermission to use his meeting house" for the services. 
He also suggested that they invite some minister to preach a 
discourse on the occasion. ^Nlr. Forsitii of ()rfor(l, who had 
officiated at a similar service before, preached the sermon, 
though it is not certain whether he was a member of the 
order or not. 

The name of this earliest lodge at Haverhill was " Union 
Lodge, No. 10," and had in its list of membership many of 



414 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

the leadincr nien at that time. In 18011 the Lodo;e was re- 
moved to Orford, and was held there under its original name 
until about 18l>0, when it was changed to "Mount Cube 
Lodge." The members of Union Lodge, Xo. 10, who 
lived at Haverhill, did not find themselves sufficiently accom- 
modated by the removal of the Lodge to Orford, and accord- 
ingly were organized into a new lodge called " Grafton 
Lodge, No. 46." This Lodge continued until 1844, when 
on account of a failure to make returns, its charter was de- 
clared forfeited by the Grand Lodge. 

The present Lodge in Haverhill, called " Grafton Lodge," 
is the renewal of the Lodge of 182(i-44, and was re-habi- 
tated in October, 1857, by having its charter restored. 

The communications or meetings of the old "■ Union 
Lodge," were held at Newbury and Bradford, Vt., as well 
as at Haverhill, according to convenience. Amongst the 
earlier officers of Union Lodge was Micah Barron, master in 
1802; Koss Coon, treasurer: and William Lambert was the 
first secretary. The latter was master in 180o. John Mont- 
gomery was master in 1804. 

Tlie present Lodge is in a fiourisliing condition, has a neat 
hall for its meetings, and includes many of our leading citi- 
zens in its membership. The present officers are, H. V. 
Watson, worshipful master ; Tyler AVestgate, senior war- 
den ; A. J. Randall, junior warden : John Farnham. treas- 
urer : AV. P. Smith, secretary; F. ]\I. Tucker, senior dea- 
con ; C. J. Pike, junior deacon : C J. Ayer, seni(n- 
steward; C. N. Miner, junior steward; A. F. Thomas, 
tyler ; E. W. Stoddard, chaplain and representative to 
Grand Lodge. 

When the brick church was built, the corner stone, it 
would seem, was laid under Masonic ceremonies, at least the 
church whose corner stone was laid l)y D. D. G. M., Cjdvin 
Benton of Lebanon is described as a '* new Methodist 



MISCELLANEOUS. 4 If) 

Episeopel chapel/' " Calvin Benton " soundt? sufficiently 
orthodox to lav the corner .stone of any church. 



PLNE (iKOVE FARM. 

Both correspondence and a visit to the farm ha\-e failed 
in securing all the information which is desirable in regard 
to this Avell-known stock farm. The farm is historic, aside 
from its present history and fame, being owned in the early 
settlement of the Town by Gen. Moses Dow, a distinguished 
lawyer of Haverhill, and was known as the *' Dow farm," 
and is sometimes still called by that name. It was l)ought 
many years ago by Hon. Henry Keyes, of Newbury, Vt., 
and has been in the Keyes family since that time. At pres- 
ent the farm is owned liy Harry Keyes of Newbury, Vt., 
who continues it as a stock farm. Mr. Keyes is a graduate 
of Harvard University, and takes a dee[) interest in the farm 
and its stock, fully ap})reciating the importance of such farms 
in maintaining high-grade stock. Holstein and »Tersev have 
been the chief lines of cattle which Pine Grove Farm l)reeds 
and of these it has some of the finest in the country. At 
l)resent the number is one hundred twenty-five head, and 
these cattle are sold far and near. Also, the farm breeds 
Cotswold sheep and Norman horses. ,\.t state and other 
fairs Pine Grove Farm has taken the highest }>remiums on 
various occasions, and has a wide and well deserved fame. 
The buildings are large, airy, and thoroughly adapted to the 
j)in'poses of a stock farm, and nothing is spared to secure the 
best results of breeding. Mr. Keyes is a gentleman of 
means, and is able to add to or improve his herds in what- 
ever way will increase their value and perfection. The farm 
consists of (SOO acres, part on the river, the rest lying back, 
and the tillage portion is in the highest state of cultivation. 



41(5 HISTORY OF HAVERHILL. 

ODD FELLOWS. 

jNIoosehillock Lodge, Xo. 25, I. O. O. F., was instituted 
at Haverhill Corner in 1848 by Grand Master J. C. Lyford. 
The lodge grew in members, but never became very large, 
and contained in its membership some very prominent names. 
Ex-chief justice, eT. E. Sargent, Hon, Ellery A. Hibbard, 
J. D. Sleeper, Esq., Chas. G. Smith, and others. After a 
useful mission of about ten years it ceased to exist. The 
cause of the decline of the lodge is said to have been due to 
the general decline of Haverhill after business was di\erted 
by the advent of the railroad. 

The lodge was resuscitated at Woodsville in 1874 through 
Quincy A. Scott and Joseph Kidder, with the following 
charter members : M. H. Parker, G. A. Davison, Q. A. 
Scott, K. Marshall and M. V. B. Perkins. Fifteen new 
meml)er8 were admitted the first month, and the lodge has 
had a steady growth since its re-constitution, having received 
190 members in all. Its present membership is 130. It 
held its meetings for a time in a hall in the Mt. Gardiner 
house, but in 1882, having outgrown its quarters, it pur- 
chased tlie Tabor property and erected a three story building, 
60x40, with stores on first fioor, tenements on the second, 
and the lodge hall on the third. The lodge holds property 
^alued at about $5,000, and has been wonderfully successful 
under the wise, prudent and zealous care of those who have 
had the management of its affairs. Growth, thrift and 
])rogress have marked its history from the first, keeping full 
abreast of the enterprise and progress of the active and stir- 
ring village in which it is located. Its membership includes 
many of the best and most prominent citizens of Woods\ille 
and vicinity, and its infiuence is exerted in the line of moral 
and honest and conservative life. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 417 

I'ATIJIAKCHS MILITANT. 

Grand Canton Albin, Xo. 4, Patriarchs Militant, I. O. 
O. F., of Woodsvillc, was mustered in 1<S87 with seventy- 
five members, by Lt.-(Jen. John C Underwood connnand- 
ing tlie army, P. ]M., and is composed of Patriarchal Odd 
Fellows who are niend)ers of the different lod<;cs and en- 
campnients in this vicinity, and has components at Bradford, 
Vt., and Littleton. 

This body is a military branch of Odd Fellowship and is 
organized and officered the same as the United States Army. 
Capt. fJohn E. Bisson was its first commandant. The 
three components are organized as a Battalion under the 
connnand of ]Major Q. A. Scott. The Canton was named 
in honor of Hon. John II. .Vlbin, a leading lawyer of Con- 
cord and a prominent Odd Fellow. 



GOOD TEMPLAKS. 

Bluff Lodge ^so. 47 of Good Templars was charteretl in 
18*)(!, and instituted the year following. The first officers 
wei-e Rev. J. ^L Bean, worthy chief; Mrs. N. H. Batch- 
elder, vice chief ; ^l. B. Carpenter, secretary ; A. F. Thomas, 
marshal ; Fannie IMorrison, deputy marshal ; Horaec Mor- 
rison, past worthy chief ; Frank Morrison, chaplain ; Josej)!! 
Weed, outside guard ; Alice Woodwaid. inside guard. The 
meetings were held in a liall on the second fioor of the build- 
ing now owned and ()ccu[)ied by the Cohos Steam Press. 
The lodge met on Thursday of each week, and was prosper- 
ous for some time, and its membership was composed of 
ladies and gentlemen. The object of the lodge was to pro- 
mote the cause of temperance, and it achieved some success 
in that line. It is to be regrette<l that it did not have a 
lono-er lease of life. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

AITEXDIX. 

Pflticljxd Town Ojficars find llejjfttityitativeii frotn 1763 

to 1888. 



310DEHAT0KS. 

1763. Juhn Ilazen, * IT^SO. 

17(54. Jacob Bailey, 

17(55. Elislia Lock, 

17(i(i. John Hazen, 

17()7. James Abbott, 17.S1. 

17(5^. Timothy Bedel, 17,sa. 

17(il). John Hazen, 17.S2. 

1770. John Hazen, x f 
James Bailey, 

1771. Charles Johnston, 17.S4. 

1772. John Hazen, 

1773. Charles Johnston, 

1774. Ephraiift Wesson, 1785. 
Capt. Wesson, s 17<S(i. 

1775. kSimeon Goodwin, v 17(S7. 
James Bailey, 

177(5. James Bailey , n 17 S ,S . 

Thomas Simpson, 

1777. Capt. Wesson, x 
Tliomas Simpson, 1781). 

1778. Thomas Simpson, n 
Thomas Simpson, 

177!l. Charles Johnston, 17iH). 



James Abljott, n 
Timothy Bedel, .s- 
Timothy Bedel, 
Timothy Bedel, v 
Timothy Bedel, 
Moses Dow, 
Timothy Ik'del, 
Charles Johnston, n 
Charles Johnston, .y 
Timotliy Bedel, 
Charles Johnston, x 
Daniel Stevens, .s 
Charles Johnston, 
Moses Dow, 
Asa Porter, .s 
Moses Dt)w, 
Moses Dow, s 
Cliarles Johnston, 
Charles Johnston, s 
Charles Johnston, s 
Charles Johnston, 
Charles Hntchins. n 
Charles Johnston, 



* Town officers for this year, except niodenitor. were appointed by 
the Proprietors, as is learned from their records. 

t Officers with *• attached to tlieir names held their positions at 
special meetings. 





ArrEXDix. 


171)0. 


Mosos Dow, .*«• 


1804, 


171)1. 


Ak)sc.s Dow, 






Charles Johnston, .s- 


1S()5. 




Asa Porter, t> 






Obadiah Eastman, s 




171)2. 


Asa Porter, ^ 






Charles Johnston, 


i8on, 


1798. 


Charles Johnston, .s- 
Andrew S. Crocker, 




171)4. 


Charles Johnston, 
Moody Ik'del, .V 




171)5. 


Charles Johnston, 
Asa Porter, .s 


ISO 7 




A. S. Crocker, .v 


1808 


17 Do. 


C^harles Joluiston, 
.John Monto'oniery, s 




171)7. 


( 'harles flohnston. 






Michael flohnston, .s- 


ISOI) 


1798. 


diaries Johnston, 




171)1). 


Charles Johnston, 




1800. 


John Mont<i(»niery, 
Aniasa Scott, .s- 
Daniel Stevens, .s 


ISIO 




Charles .lohnston, x 


IS 11 


1801. 


Aniasa Scott, .s 
Moor liussell, s 
Moody Bedel, .s- 






John Montgomery 


1812 




Daniel Stamford, x 




1802. 


iVmasa Scott, .s- 






Ross (\)on. 


1818 


1808. 


Asa Porter, 
Charles Jolmston, .s 






Moses Dow, .*.' 


1814 




Joshua Swan, s 





41i) 



S. P. Wehster, 
Capt. J. Pearson, .*>■ 
Sam'l A. lY'arson, n 
Stephen P. Webster 
Amos Chapman, s 
Isaac Pearson, .s 
S. P. Webster, 
Jno. Montgomery, .«.• 
]M()ses Dow, .s 
John Osgood, .v 
Asa Boynton, .s- 
Moody "P>edel, 
Simeon Towle, .s- 
S. P. Webster, 
Kichard (lookin, .s- 
Moody Bedel, .^• 
J. Montgomery, .s- 
S. P. Webster, 
Alden Sprague, s 
Charles Johnston, .s- 
S. P. Webster, 
Moody Bedel, .s- 
Charles flohnston, .v 
S. P. Webster, 
fTohn Kimball, s 
Charles flohnston, .<? 
John Smith, .s- 
E. Kingsbury, 
fTacob AMlliams, .*.• 
Israel Swan, .v 
S. P. Webster, 
S. P. Welister, s 
Israel Swan, .v 
E. Kingsbnry, s 
E. Kingsbury, *■ 



420 



HISTOltY OF IIAVEimiLL. 



1814. Israel Swan, .v 1S'2S. 

1815. E. Kingsbury, 182!l. 
David Webster, n 

Xoah Davis, .v 1830. 

18 1(). E. Kingsbury, 
Israel Swan, x 

1817. Moody Bedel, 
Isaac Pearson, s- 

E. Kingsbury, ^- 18ol. 

1818. S. P. Webster, 
E. Kingsbury, .v 

181 S». S. P. Webster, 

Jona. Sinclair, .v 1832. 

1820. S. P. Webster, 
Benjamin Merrill, s- 

Tim. A. Edson, .s 1833. 

1821. Joseph Bell, 
Thomas Morse, .s 

1822. Joseph Bell, 

Ezekiel Ladd, 1834. 

Ezra Bartlctt, s- 

1823. Joseph Bell, 

S. P. Webster, x 1835. 

1824. Ezra Bartlctt, 
Ezekiel Ladd, n 

1825. Joseph Bell, 183(i. 
John Smith, s- 

1820. Joseph Bell, 

Ezekiel Ladd, .v 1837. 

Jonathan Pool, n 

1827. Joseph Bell, 

P^zekiel Ladd, x 1838. 

John Smith, x 

1828. Joseph Bell, 

John Kimball, x l,S3i>. 



John Nelson, x 
Joseph Bell, 
Isaac Pearson, x 
John Smith, 
John Xelson, x 
Joseph Bell, x 
Calel) Morse, s 
Ezekiel Ladd, x 
John Page, 
E. N. Powers, x 
Moses Dow, X 
Bryan Morse, s 
Jolm Angier, 
John L. Rix, s 
Jolm Angier, s 
John Angier, 
Ezra Xiles, x 
Moses Dow, X 
John L. Rix, s 
Joseph Bell, 
Sam'l Cartland, x 
John Xelson, x 
John Page, 
E. Kingsbury, x 
Jonathan Bliss, s 
John Page, 
Jonathan Sinclair, x 
Moses H. Sinclair, x 
John Page, 
J. B. Kowell, X 
Jona. Sinclair, s 
John Page, 
Caleb Morse, x 
Xehemiah Woods, s 
John Page, 



APrKNDIX, 



421 



1830. 
1.S40. 

1841. 

1842. 



1843. 

1844. 
1845. 
184G. 
1847. 



1848. 

184!). 
18f)(). 
1851. 
1852. 
1853. 

1854. 
1855. 
185(5. 
1857. 
1858. 
1859. 



Jaeol) Williams, x 
^Nloset* II. Sinclair, s 
John Pa^c, 
David IL Collins, .s- 
Samuel Paije, v 
Samuel Swasey, 
A. M. Brown, .s 
Ilosea S. Baker, v 
.John Pai>e, 
John Carr, fli\, s 
Samuel Swasey, .v 
John S. Bryant, n 
Henry W. Redinp;, x 
Chandler Cass, 
Samuel Swasey, x 
Samuel Swasey, 
Samuel Swasey, 
Samuel Swasey, 
Daniel Morse, 
Nathaniel Kix, n 
D. C. Kimball, .s- 
Daniel iNIorse, 2d 
Sanniel Swasey, -s- 
Daniel Morse, 2d 
J. D. Sleeper, 
fl. 1). Sleeper, 
Joseph Powers, 
J. D. Sleeper, 
flohn K. Kedinu'. v 
James P. "Webster. 
James P. Webster, 
James P. ^^'el)ster, 
flames P. Wel)ster, 
James P. Webster, 
James V. ^Vebster, 



isco. 
l.sci. 

ls(;2. 
l.s(;3. 



isiu, 



1<S(;5. 



l.siid. 

ISlw. 
18()-s. 
18(511. 
1870. 
1871. 
1872. 
1873. 
1874.- 
1-S75. 
l.S7(;. 
1877. 
1878. 

187!». 

isso. 

issi. 
1882. 

1883. 
1884. 



James P. AVebster, 
James P. \\'ebster, 
Sanuiel Carr, .v 
flames 1*. Webster, 
flames 1\ Wel)ster, 
D. C. Kimball, .s- 
Xatiri M. Swasey, .v 
James P. AVebster, 
(r. A\'. Chapman, .« 
A. J. Edgerly, n 
fl. P. AVebster, s 
fl. P. AVebster, s 
Samuel Carr, x 
Daniel Batehelder, 
Daniel liatchelder, 
Chas. (i. Smith, 
Chas. G. Smith, 
Chas. G. Smith, 
Chas. M. AVeeks, 
Chas. M. AVeeks, 
Chas. M. Weeks, 
Henry P. AAatson, 
Chas". M. AVeeks, 
(;has. M. AVeeks, 
Chas. M. AVeeks, 
CMias. M. AVeeks, 
Enoch ( i. Paiker, s 
Enoch ( i. Parkci', 
Chas. M. Weeks, 
dias. M. AVeeks, .s- 
Chas. M. Weeks, 
Chas. M. AVeeks, 
Chas. M. AVeeks, s 
Chas. M. Weeks, 
Chas. AI. Weeks. 



422 HISTORY OF HAA'ERHILL. 

1885. C;ii08. (I. Smith, 1887. Samuel B. Page, 

188(5. Chas. B. Smith, 1<S8,S. Samuel B. Page. 

Cha.s. (t. Smith, .s- 



TOWN CLPfUKS. 



1763. 


Jesse Johnson, 


181i)-20. 


Ezra Bartlett, 


1764. 


(No record,) 


1821-1). 


E. Kingsbury, 


1765. 


John Taplin, 


1830. 


J. \\"ood\var(l. 




Jolm Hazen, 


1N31-3. 


Henry Barsto^v, 


176()-7. 


Eli.sha Lock, 


1S34. 


John L. Chapin, 


1768. 


Timotliy Bedel, 


1835-6. 


Henry Barstow, 


176l)-7(). 


James Abbott, 


1837. 


X. b'. Felton, 


1771. 


Charles Johnston, 


1838. 


T. K. lilaisdell, 


1772-3. 


James Abbott, 


LS31)-40. 


John McClary, 


1774-.S2. 


C. Johnston, 


1841-42. 


Jolm A. Page, 


1783-4. 


Moses Dow, 


1843. 


X. P,. Felton, 


1785. 


Joshua Young, 


l<S44-4<;. 


X. :\1. Swasey, 


1786. 


A. S. Crocker, 


1847. 


A. E. Haywood, 


1787. 


Charles Johnston. 


184<s-l). 


J. T. Barstow, 


1788-1)0. 


A. S. Crocker, 


1850. 


Chas. G. Smith, 


1791-5J3. 


Moody Bedel, 


1851-2. 


J. T. Barstow, 


171)4-5. 


Sanniel Brooks, 


1853. 


Chas. (t. Smith, 


17!)6. 


:\Ioody Bedel, 




Geo. AV. Aiken, 


171)7-.s. 


flohn Osgood, 


l<S54-7. 


Xatiri liailey. 


1791). 


Jose])h Ladd, 


1857. 


Jacol) Bell," 


lS()()-()3. 


Joseph Ladd, 


1858-63. 


A. K. Merrill, 


1804. 


John Osgood, 


1863. 


Michael Carleton, 


1805-6. 


Joseph Ladd, 


1864. 


A. K. Merrill, 


1804-8. 


David .Mitchell, 


1.S65. 


Albert P>ailey, 


1808-11. 


E. Kingsbury, 




A. K. Merrill, 


1812. 


John Page, Jr., 


186(;-73. 


J. L. Ham, 


1813-15. 


IL n. Goodman, 


1874-88. 


Enoch 11. Weeks 


1816-18. 


John Osgood, 









APPENDIX. 




selb:ctmi:x. 


1763. 


John White. 


1774. 




Janu'8 liailcy, 


177,"). 




Edinond ]\Iortse, 




1764. 


(No record.) ^' 




1765. 


Jolin Ilazcn, 
P^lislia Luck, 
Jonatlian Klkius, 


1776. 


1766. 


Tnnothy ]>edel, 
Jonathan Elkiny, 
Jonathan Sandery, 


1777. 


1767. 


James Abbott, 
Ezekiel Ladd, 
Edward Bailey, 


1778. 


1768. 


Tiniotliy Bedel, 
Ezekiel Ladd, 
Xatlianiel Wesson, 


177l». 


17611. 


Jose])li Ilntchins, 
James Woodward. 
Simeon Goodwin, 


1780. 


1770. 


James Bailey, 
]Maxi Ilazeltine, 
( 'harles Johnston, 


1781. 


1771. 


A. 8. Croeker, 
Charles Johnston, 
James Bailey, 


1782. 


1772. 


Ephraim Wesson, 
Charles Johnston, 
Simeon Goodwin, 


178;;. 


177;;. 


Chai'les , Johnston. 
E[)hraim A\ esson, 
A. S. (^rocker. 


1781. 


1774. 


Ephraim Wesson. 
James Bailey, 


1785. 



423 



Charles , Johnston, 
Charles Johnston, 
James Bailey, 
Ephraim Wesson, 
Thomas Simpson, 
Capt. Ladd. 
Simeon Goodwin, 
(^i[)t. Ladd, 
James A\ oodward, 
Charles fJohnston, 
Maj. Hale, 
John Page, 
Alaxi Ilazeltine, 
fJoslma I lay ward, 
Daniel Stevens, 
Charles Johnston, 
Charles J(jhnston, 
I^^phraim Wesson, 
Timothy Barron, 
Charles Johnston, 
Timothy I3edel, 
James Woodward, 
(^has. Johnston, 
Timothy liedel. 
James Woodward, 
James A\'^oo(l\\ ard, 
Moses Dow, 
A. S. Crocker, 
Charles Johnston. 
A. S. Crocker, 
Nathaniel ^Merrill, 
Charles Jolniston, 
A. S. Crocker, 



424 



IirSTOllY OF HAVERHILL. 



1785. 
1786. 



1787. 



1788. 



1789. 



1700. 



1791, 



17-92. 



1793 



1794. 



179.1. 



Xathanic'l Merrill, 
Charles Johnston, 
A. S. Crocker, 
Nathaniel Merrill, 
Charles Johnston, 
Joshua Howard, 
Ezekiel Ladd, 
Charles Johnston, 
A. S. Crocker, 
Nathaniel Merrill. 
Charles Johnston, 
A. 8. Crocker, 
Joseph Hutchins, 
Moses Dow, 
Nathaniel Merrill, 
Amos Kimball, 
Charles Johnston, ' 
A. S. Crocker, 
Amos Kimball, 
Joseph Hutchins, 
Nathaniel Merrill, 
!Moody liedel , 
]\Ioo(ly 13edel, 
Amos Kimball, 
Moses Porter, 
Ezekiel Ladd, 
A. S. Crocker, 
Moody I>edel, 
Samuel Brooks, 
A. S. Crocker, 
Nathaniel Merrill, 
Samuel Brooks, 
A. S. Crocker, 



1795. 
1796. 



1797. 



1798. 



1799. 



l.S(H). 



l.SOl, 



1802. 



1808, 



1804. 



1805. 



1 son 



Daniel Stamford, 
Alden Spraguc, 
Nathaniel ^Merrill, 
Moody r>edel, 
Charles Johnston, 
Ezekiel Ladd, 
Amos Kimball, 
Charles Johnston, 
Ezekiel Ladd, 
Amos Kiml)all, 
Charles Johnston, 
Nathaniel ^Merrill, 
William Porter, 
Nathaniel Merrill, 
INIoor Kusscll, 
]\Iichael Johnston, 
A. S. Crocker, 
Amasa Scott, 
Ross Coon, 
Nathaniel Merrill, 
Moody Bedel, 
Asa Boynton, 
Stephen ]Morse, 
Asa Boynton, 
Ezekiel Ladd, 
S. P. Webster, 
John Kimball, 
Ezekiel Ladd, 
S. P. Webster, 
John Kimball, 
Ezekiel Ladd, 
Asa Boynton, 
flohn Kimball, 



* This second list of Selectmen wus chosen at a special meeting, for 
what reason is not stated. 



APPEXDIX. 



425 



1806. 

1807. 



1808. 



1801) 



1810. 



1811. 



1812. 



1813. 



1814. 



1815. 



1810. 



1817. 



1818. 



Xathaniel Merrill, I.SIS. 

.Moody Bedel, 

John Kimhall, 18i;». 

Tim. A. Edson, 

Simeon Towlc, 

Richard Gookiii, 1820. 

John Kimball, 

John Kimball, 

Richard Gookin, 1^21. 

Michael Johnston, 

John Kimball, 

Ezekiel Ladd, Jr. 1822. 

Michael Johnston, 

John Kiml)all, 

Ezekiel Ladd, Jr. 1823. 

Jacob Williams, 

8. P. AVebster, 

John Kimball, 1824. 

Uriah AA'ard, 

John Kiml)all, 

David .Alerrill, 1825. 

Israel SA\'an , 

David Webster, Jr. 

Israel Swan, 1826. 

John Kimball, 

Israel Swan, 

John S. Sanborn, 1827. 

E. Kingsbiuy, 

Israel Swan, 

Chester. Farman, 1828. 

Enoch Chase, 

John Page, Jr. 

John Kimball, 1821). 

Benj. Merrill, 

John Pcure, Jr. 



John Kimball, 
Benj. Merrill, 
John Page, Jr. 
John Kimball, 
Edward Towle, 
John Page, Jr. 
Benj. Merrill, 
Tim. A. Edson, 
John Page, Jr. 
Obadiah Swasey, 
Benj. Merrill, 
John Page, Jr. 
Benj. Merrill, 
Obadiah Swasey, 
E. Kingsbury, 
Jacob Williams, 
Jonathan Wilson, 
E. Kingsbury, 
Jacob Williams, 
Jonathan Wilson, 
E. Kingsbury, 
Jonathan Wilson, 
Jacob Williams, 
John Page, 
John Kimball, 
Caleb Morse, 
John Page, 
John Kimball, 
Caleb ^Nlorse, 
John Kimball, 
Caleb Morse, 
John Nelson, 
Jolin Nelson, 
John Kimball, 
Caleb Morse, 



426 



HISTORY O:^ HAVERHILL. 



1830. John Page, 
John Kimball, 
Joshua Woodward, 

1831. John Page, 
Simon Stafford, 
Jonathan Wilson, 

1832. John Page, 
Simon Stafford, 
Jona. B. Rowell, 

1833. John Page, 
Simon Stafford, 
Jona. B. Rowell, 

1834. John Page, 
Jonathan Wilson, 
Simon Stafford, 

1835. Jonathan Sinclair, 
Jona. B. Rowell, 
John L. Corliss, 

1836. Jona. B. Rowell, 
Jona. Sinclair, 
John L. Corliss, 

1837. Jno. B. Rowell, 
Samuel Page, 
Jacob Morse, 

1838. Joshua Woodward, 
Caleb Morse, 
Moses Southard, 

1839. Samuel Page, 
Jacob Morse, 
Daniel Carr, Jr. 

1840. Samuel Page, 
Daniel Carr, Jr. 
Joseph Stowe, 

1841. Samuel Page, 
Joseph Stowe. 



1841. 
1842. 



1843. 



1844. 



1845. 



1846. 



1847, 



1848. 



1849. 



1850. 



1851. 



1852. 



1853. 



Daniel Carr, Jr. 
Samuel Swasey, 
Nathaniel Rix, 
John Page, 
Nathaniel Rix, 
Newhall Pike, 
Alvah K. Haywood, 
Alvah E. Haywood, 
Samuel Swasey, 
Isaac Morse, 
Dudley C. Kimball, 
Isaac Morse, 
Alvah E. Haywood, 
JohnMcClary, 
Isaac F. Allen, 
Josiah Jeffers, 
Dudley C. Kimball, 
Samuel Page, 
Isaac Morse, 
Dudley C.Kimball, 
Isaac Morse, 
W. W. Simpson, 
Dudley C.Kimball, 
Isaac Morse, 
W. W. Simpson, 
John R. Reding, 
Isaac F. Allen, 
Itham Howe, 
Dudley C. Kimball, 
Isaac Morse, 
Nathaniel Kimball, 
Samuel Page, 
Luther Colby, 
Nathaniel Kimball, 
John R. Redinf;, 



APPENDIX. 



427 



1853. N. M. Swasey, 1865. 
N. S. Davis, 

1854. Samuel Page, 

Samuel Carr, 18()(). 

Nathaniel Kimball, 

1855. James P. Webster, 
Samuel Carr, 18G7. 
Rosea S. Baker, 

185G. James P. Webster, 

Ilosea S. Baker, 18G8. 

Luther Butler, 

1857. Samuel Page, 

Luther Butler, 1869. 

David Merrill, 

1858. Luther Butler, 

Russell Kimball, 1870. 

Stephen Metcalf, 

1859. Stephen Metcalf, 

John L. Rix, 1871. 

Solon S. Southard, 

1860. Stephen Metcalf, 

John L. Rix, 1872. 

Solon S. Southard, 

1861. Stephen Metcalf, 

James A. Currier, 1873. 
Joshua Carr, 

1862. James A. Currier, 
Joshua Carr, 1874. 
Rosvvell Elliott, 

1863. Dudley C.Kimball, 
Daniel Merrill, 1875. 
N. M. Swasey, 

1864. Dudley C.Kimball, 
Harry A. Albee, 1876. 
Edward L. Page, 



Edward L. Page, 
Rosea S. Baker, 
Nathaniel Bailey, 
Chas. M. Weeks, 
Langdon Bailey, 
Isaac Morse, 
Charles M. Weeks, 
Langdon Bailey, 
Jacob Morse, 
Ezra S. Kimball, 
Charles Fisher, 
John W. Cutting, 
Ezra S. Kimball, 
Charles Fisher, 
John W. Cutting, 
Ch.arles G. Smith, 
eTames L. Bisbee, 
Calvin Merrill, 
Charles G. Smith, 
Calvin Merrill, 
Samuel R. Crocker, 
Charles G. Smith, 
Samuel R. Crocker, 
Sylvester Jeffers, 
Charles G. Smith, 
Sylvester Jeffers, 
John E. Carr, 
Charles G. Smith, 
Sylvester Jeffers, 
Renry F. King, 
John E. Carr, 
Wm. C. Marston, 
Rorace E. Noyes, 
John E. Carr, 
Wm. C. Marston, 



428 



HISTORY OF IIAVEEIIILL. 



1876. 
1877. 



1878. 



1879. 



1880. 



1881. 



1882. 



Horace PL Noyes, 1888. 

Horace E. Noyes, 

A. ^Y. Thomas, 

Daniel ^X. Meader, 1884. 

Daniel W. Meader, 

S. H. Cummin o;s, 

Ezra B. Mann, l'SS5. 

N. P.'Ridout, 

George C. Jeft'ers, 

Ehoch G. Parker, 1886. 

Ezra B. Mann, 

S. H. Cummings, 

Nathan P. Ridout, 1887. 

Ezra B. Mann, 

S. H. Cnmmings, 

Horace Eaton, 1888. 

S. H'. Cummings, 

Horace Eaton, 

Caleb Wells, 



Caleb AVells, 
Ira Whitcher, 
Charles ^Y . Pike, 
Caleb Wells, 
Ira Whitcher, 
Charles W. Pike, 
Charles W. Pike, 
\A"m. C. ]\Iarston, 
Seth P. Stickney, ■ 
Caleb Wells, 
Ira Whitclier, 
Levi B. Ham, 
Henry F. King, 
Levi B. Ham, 
W. W. Col)urn, 

D. L. Hawkins, 
W. W. Coburn, 

E. C. Kinnev. 





TREASURERS. 




1771. 


James Bailey, 1 


1793-4. 


1. . ^ 
Charles Johnston, 


1772-3. 


Simeon Goodwin, 


1795. 


Daniel Stamford, 


1774-5. 


James Bailey, 


1796. 


Moody Bedel, 


1776-9. 


Simeon Goodwin, 


1797. 


J. Woodward, 


1780-2. 


J. Woodward, 


1798. 


Ezekiel Ladd, 


1783-4. 


Simeon Goodwin, 


1799. 


Michael Johnston, 


1785-6. 


Moses l)ow. 


1800-0(5 


John Osgood, 


1787. 


J. Woodward, 


1807. 


David Mitchell, 


1788. 


Ezekiel Ladd, 


1808. 


Charles Johnston, 


1789-92. 


Moses Dow, 


1809. 


John Kimball, 



* Eesigned and Stephen II. Cummings was iippointod. 
t The treasurer was chosen this year for tlie tirst time. The duties 
of the office before this date were performed by the Selectmen. 



APPENDIX. 429 

1810-11. Ezekicl I.iidd, ,Ir. l,S41-2. AiAm A. V:\crc, 

1812-1;}. John L. Corliss, 184;). (Xorecord.) 

1814-l.T. H. II. (ioodmnn, l<S44-»i. N. M. Swasey, 

181fJ-l8. John ()su(.()d, 1847. I). C. Kinihall, 

1819-20. Ezra Bartlctt, 1848-49. J. T. Barstow, 

1821-130. E. Kingsley, 1850. Chas. G. Smith, 

1831-3;3. Henry Barstow, 1851-2. J. T. Barstow, 

1834. John L. Chapm, 1853. Chas. G. Smith, 

1835-(!. Henry Barstow, 1854-7. Nathaniel Bailey, 

1837. X. B. Felton, 1858-()5. A. K. Merrill, ' 

1838. T. W. Blaisdell, 18GG-73. L. B. Ham, 
1839-40. John ^IcClarv, 1874-88. Enoeh K. Weeks. 



i;i:pi;i:sK\TAri\Ks. 



1783. 


J. Woodward, * 


180(). 


Nath"l Merrill, 


1784. 


T. Bedel, 


1807. 


Moody Bedel, 


1785-7. 


Chissed with other 


1808-12. 


S. P. Webster, 




towns. 1 


I8i;3-i4. 


John Kimball, 


1788-9. 


J. Hutchins, 


1815. 


Ezekiel Ladd, .Jr. 


1790-1. 


Moses Dow, 


181(k 


S. P. Webster, 


1791. 


J. Hutchins, ( ?) 


1817-18. 


^Nloody Bedel, 


1792. 


Samuel Brooks, 


1819-20. 


John Page, Jr. 


1793. 


Moses Dow, 


1821. 


Josepli Bell, 


1794-(). 


Xathaniel M(M-rill . 


1822-4. 


John L. CN)rliss, 


1797-8. 


Moody ]^,edel. 


1825. 


Samuel Cartland, 


1799. 


Moor Kussell, 


182(5-7. 


John L. Corliss, 


IS 00. 


Moor Kussell. 


1828. 


Joseph Bell, 


1801. 


Moody liedel, 


182.S-30. 


Galeb Morse, 


1802. 


(None.) 


1831. 


fTona. ^^'ilson, 


1803-5. 


J. Montgomery, 


1831-2. 


Samuel Page, 



* First roprt'Poiitativo soiit this j-i'iir. 

+ This j'oar and the two foliowinoj years the n-iirosontativc was 
eithor from Pionnoiit or Coventrj', as the towns wore classitifii uitli 
Ilaverhill, and formed our representative district. 



430 



HlSTOliY OF HAVERHILL. 



1833. 


John Angier, * 


1854-5. 


Isaac Morse, 


1834. 


Ezra Bartlett, * 


1856. 


John L. Rix, 


1835. 


John Page, * 




Isaac Morse, 


1836. 


John McClary, 


1857. 


Nath'l. Bailey, 




John Angier, 


1857-8. 


Russell King, 


1837. 


eJohn McClary, 


1859. 


J. P. Webster, . 




Jona. Wilson, 


1859-60. 


Geo. S. Kelsea, 


1838. 


Hosea 8. Baker, 


1861. 


Daniel Morse, 2d 




John S. Sinclair, 




N. AVestgate, 


1839. 


Jacob Williams, 


1862. 


Albert Bailey, 




Samuel Swasey, 


1862-3. 


M.W.Nelson, 


1840. 


Samuel Swasey, 


1864. 


P. W. Kimball, 


1840-1. 


Samuel Smith, 




J. B. Cotton, 


1842. 


N. B. Felton, 


1865. 


P. W. Kimball, 


1842-3. 


Samuel Swasey, 




John N. Morse, 


1843-4. 


Eber Eastman, 


1866. 


Chas. G. Smith, 


1844-5. 


Daniel Morse, 2d 




II. B. Leonard, 


1845. 


D. Batchelder, 


1867. 


Chas. G. Smith, ] 


1846. 


Samuel Swasey, 




II. B. Leonard, 




Nathaniel Rix, 


1868. 


G. F. Putnam, 


1847. 


Samuel Swasey, 




Chas. M. Weeks, 




Isaac Morse, 


1869. 


Chas. M. Weeks, 


1848. 


Samuel Swasey, f 




G. F. Putnam, 


1849. 


Daniel Morse, 2d 


1870. 


L. Bniley, 




Samuel Page, 




J. W. Cutting, 


1850. 


Samuel Swasey, 


1871. 


Henry Holt, 1 




T. B. Jackson, 




J. W. Cutting, 1 


1851. 


D. C. Kimball, 


1872. 


N. M. Swasey, i 


1851-2. 


C. G. Thompson!, 




Silvester Reding, 


1853. 


N. B. Felton, 


1873. 


N. M. Swasey, 




Jacob Morse, 




Silvester Reding, 


1854. 


John L. Rix, 


1874. 
n. 


Levi B. Ham, 


* Only 


one representative chose 


t Only 


one sent. 







APPENDIX. 



431 



1874. A. J. Edgcrly, 

1875. Levi. B. Ham, 
Clias. A. Gale, 

187(i. Ezra B.Mann, 
Chas. A. Gale, 

1877. Ezra B.Mann, 
Sanuicl T. Page, 

1878. John E. Carr, 
Samuel T. Page, 



were ehosen in November, bi- 

annually. ) 

1880. John E. Carr, 

W. C. Marston, 
1882. W. W. Coburn, 

W. F. Wcstgate, 
1884. Geo. H. Mann, 
188ti. Samuel B. Page, 

Samuel T. Pajre. 



(After 1878 representatives 



I 



CORRECTIOXS. 

Page 29, Kcad Charlestoum, for Charleston. 

41, " Moses Hazen died in Albany, N. Y., in 1785." 

Another account gives 1803. 
55, liead Moses Stoasey of J^eiubury, 17., for Oba- 

diah Swasey of North Haverhill. 
59, Read Mr. Ethan Brock for ]\Irs. Eithan Brock. 
()8, Moses Little as justice of the Court of Ses- 
sions, is credited to Cainj)ton. Whether 
the Campton and the Haverhill Little were 
the same person is not clear. 
70, John Hard died in Boston in 1809, and was 
probably buried in the old Germany grave- 
yard, where his wife and i^n arc buried. 
72, Jose[)h Hutchins also, it is said, led an indepen- 
dent company at the time of Burgoyne's Sur- 
render. 
108, To the synopsis of Chapter VII add AVoodsville 

settlers. 
131, May Rix was probably Timothy Rix. 
151, Read Jacob Bailey for James. 
157, Read It iras an earlier marriage , for it was the 

first marriage. 
191, Read Gen. John McDuffee for Gen. John 

Duflfee. 
193, Same as above. 
U)3, Read 1834-5 for 1795. 
324, Read Moses Elkins for Moses Elkin. 
375, Read Courts and Court Houses for Court and 

Court Houses. 
393, Read Joseph II. Dunbar for Joseph W. Dun- 
bar. 



I 



INDEX. 



Academy, 211 

Adams Stephen and family, 120 

Area of Town, 22 

A Great Accident, 403 

Appendix, 41S 

An Episode, 157 

Aim of Author, 17 

Ayer Perley and family, 121 

Animals, danger of 152 

"■ wild, 367 
Angier, John 2i)4 

" Joel 2S»5 

J. Dorsev311 
Geo. W. 311 
Abbott, James 68 

" Chester 148 
Arnold, Jonathan 66 

" Cynthia Hastings 67 

" Lemuel 67 
A Noted Character, 371 
A Romance, 406 
Author, material of 1 7 
Appendix, 434. 



B 



BaiUy, Jacob 41, 42, 173 
" James 58 

Albert 141 
"• Nathaniel 141 

Milo 141 
•' Azro 141 
Allen 141 
" Langdon 14K 
Barron, Timotny 68 
William' 91 
Blaisdell, Daniel 26JJ 

*' Timothy K. andfamily 

135 
'' Alfred !t7 

Barstow, Henry 112 
William 112 
"• James 113 
" 'I'homas 113 
Ezekiel H. 113 
Mrs. 113 
•' Alfred 313 
" Anson 314 
" (ieorge 314 
" ( harles W. 314 



Barstow, John 314 
Mary 315 
Baker, Hosea S. and family, 123 
Peyton 124 
" Oliver R. 124 
Solon H. 124 
Bacon, Timothy R. 140 
Asa 140 
" Sumner P. 312 
" Elmer C. 312 
Batchelder, Daniel 140 
Banks, 3i>4 
Bartlett, Ezra 292 

Ezra, Jr. 293 
Babcock, Mrs. Louisa P. 312 
Bracket, Anson 295 
Bedel, Timothy and family, 48 
" Mood J' and family 49 
*■' Hazen 315 
" John 316 
Bell, Jacob and family. 119 
"• James, 119 
" LeRoy 119 
" Joseph 262 
" James 317 
" John 317 
Bean, John V. and family, 141 
Brewer, James P. 317 
Birth, lirst 56 
Bridges, 193 
Bliss, Jonathan 270 
" Joseph 93 
"■ Mrs. 93 
Bittinger, Rev. J. (^ 227 
Bryant, John S. 278 
Boundaries, 20 
Bounties to Soldiers, 1.59, 102 

'' to Families, 161 
Brooks. North Branch 26 
Pool, 26 
" Samuel and faniilj', 90 
'• George W. 91 
" Samuel 319 
Edwin 320 
Bovington. Asa 102 
Blood, J. G. 143 
Brown, Edwin J. 305 
Bunce, John L. 132 
Burbeck, Wm. H. and family, 

122 
Burbeck, Edward C. 320 



43 () 



INDEX. 



Burlieck Georj^e 821 
Butler, Luther 146 
Geo. C. 148 
'' Thaddeus 289 
Burial places, 154 



Changes in Life and Habits, 

19,3G1 
Charter, Date of 35 
Carr, Daniel 97 
" John 97 
" Samuel 97 
Carleton, INlichael and family 122 
" Michael Jr. and family, 
122 
Carleton, Horace D. 123 

" Edmund 268 

Clark, James B. 309 
Wm. K. 136 
" Henry H. 136 
Clarence H. 305 
Care of imbecile, 154 
Canal, 192 

Cartland, Samuel 268 
Car bee, Samuel P. 302 
Moses D. 304 
Chapman, Geo. W. 280 
Census, 154 
Cohos Country, Reports of early 

discovery and exploration 29 
Cohos Countiy, Measures to ex- 
plore 29 
Cohos Country, original plan to 

take possession of 29 
Cohos Country, Marking road to 

31 
Cohos Country, Indians at 42 

" ^ Rapid Settlement 

of 57 
Cohos Turnpike, 190 
Corrections, 433 
Coon, Boss 103 
Crocker, A. S. and familj', 85 

Frederick 321 
Collins, H. D. 276 
Committee of safety and corre- 
spondence, 58 
Cross, Wm. and familj-, 95 
" Eliza 95 
" Jeremiah 96 
Courts and Court Houses, 375 
Currier, James A. 142 

" F. P. 142 
Cutting, James 136 



Cutting Abijah 136 
Jolin W. 136 
" James ^. 321 
Cummings, Wm. H. 139 

Stephen H. 140 
'■ George S. 148 

George E. 149 
Church, Congregational, 222 
Church, Methodist Episcopal, 

North Haverhill 228 
Church, Methodist Episcopal, 

Haverhill Corner 231 
Church, iNfethodist Episcopal, 

East Haverhill 233 
Church, Methodist EpiscoiDal, 

Woodsville 236 
Church, Baptist, Xorth Haverhill 

234 
Church, Freewill, East Haverhill 

235 
Church, Union, Centre 235 
" Advent, 235 
" Episcopal, Woodsville 
236 
Cucumber story, 407 
(Jhurch-going, 360 
Cyclone, 397 



Dartmouth College, 209 

Davis, Noah 119 

'• Judge Noah, 323 
" Darius K. 142 
" John L. 147 

Day, Charles H. 146 

Davidson, Geo. A. 148 

Death, First 56 

Deer, Beave 153 • 

Delano, Eev. Samuel 225 

Dentists, 309 

Disputed boundary, 383 

Drinking habits, 382 

Dow, Benjamin 148 
'" Moses, 254 
" Moses, Jr. 2.58 
'• Joseph E. 259 

Doctors, 287 

Duncan, Wm. H. 271 



East Haverhill, 25 
Eastman, Wm. and family, 69 
" Eber, 69 



TXDEX. 



437 



Eastman Oliver 1). :U)7 

Early Settlers, doinestie habits 

of3:)4 
Early Settlers, Houses of ^^')'^ 

'• Furniture of ^57 

Liviiiii" of ."{."iit 
Edj^erlj', Andrew .F. 145 
Emerj', Georije 14S 
Emerson, John I). 22t) 
Elliott, Roswell loo 
Elkins, Jonathan (i;^ 

Col. Jonathan (54 
Moses 824 
'• Henry (54 
Egyptian Plag^ue, 3(58 
Edson, 'J'imothv A. 118 
Mrs. EdsonllS 
Education, 20(5 



Family, First 5(5 
Families, Number of 22 
Flanders, Chas. N. ;-J24 
Fairs and .Markets, 8(;(5 
Farm Products, 20 
Farnian, Chester 121 
Jeremiah 121 
Samuel L. 121 
Earns worth, T). L. 324 
Frary, Rev. Eueien H. 325 
Fleming. Kev. Archibald 225 • 
Felton, Xathan B. 274 
Few early Clearing on Oliverian. 

■ 178 
French, Richard 105 
David A. 148 
Fish, Salmon 137 
Fish. 3(57 

Fii-st Jersey Stock. 405 
First \'ote for President and (iov- 

ernor, 155 
First Representative, 15(; 
First Saw mill at Hosmer Brook. 

177 
?"ire proof Vault, 1(51 
Founders, Character of 17 



(irantees. Names of 3S 

(jrantees common to Haveihill 

and Newbuiy, 40 
Gale, Charles A. 142 
Gray, Micliael 32(5 



(Janie, 3(57 
Granite (Quarries, 27 
Great Flood, 3(1!) 
(Jreat IMnes, 381 
(Jreat Fire, 404 
(ireat Accident, 403 
(ireele_y, Rev. Edward H. 22(5 
George, Isaac K. 148 
Gibbs, Rev. Joseph 225 
Gibson, Chas. R. 307 
Griswold, Chas. B. 144 
(joodwin, Simeon 73 
Gookin, Samuel 101 
Richard 102 
AVarren D. 32(5 
Good Templars, 417 
Glover, Truman W. 148 



H 



Harrimau, Jaaseel 47 
Hawkins, D. L. 141) 
Hangings, 395 
Hale, Jonathan 73 

" Samuel 89 
Hazeltine, Maxi 72 
Hayward, (58 
Hayward, Beniamin 135 
•' Nathaniel, 135 

A hall 135 
Ham, Levi B. 142 
Hazen, John 40, 42. 43 
" Moses 41 
" 'William 45 
Hayes, Henry 297 
Haverhill, < oriier 23 
•' Academy 81 

'• Pi'ominence of 1(55 

•' F>xposure of 1(5") 

" Troops at 1G8 

" Scouts from 1(58 

Threatened in 177(5 1(59 

S(M'oiid threatening of 

Kill 

Haverhill, Military road I'l-om 17(1 

People of, wide awake 

171 

Haveiliill. Beef for troops at 171. 

174 
Haverhill, Ammunition for troops 

at 171 
Haverhill. DouKV-tii- enemies at 

172 
Haverhill, Alarm of 17S1 at 174 
" F^lt'ects of War on 175 

'' Stage Center 197 



488 



INDKX. 



Haverliill in Wm: 237 

" of devolution, 237 

'' of 1812. 241 

of Kebellion. 242 
Haverhill, Lawyers of 250 

" Doctor? of 287 

Haverhill Abroad, 310 
Heath, Simon B. 296 
Historic Farms, 37!) 
Howard, Joshua, and family 4() 
Howland, Moses N. 309 
Horn, Amos 113 
Houses, The lirst 3o,t 

" Furniture of 3o7 
Houses of Kefuge, 370 
Horse Meadow. 373 
Hog Reeves, 374 
Huskings, 360 
Hurd, John 70 
Hutchins, Joseph 72 
Hunt, Caleb 140 

'' Caleb Jr. 326 

" Horace 327 

" Prescott 327 

" Hellen 327 



Island, Howard's 27 

" Johnston's 
Intervals, 25 

Clear 22, 43 
Indians, 31, 364 

" Surprised by 31 

" ( arried away by 31 
Indian Trail, 31 

" Names, 363 



J 



Jackson, Samuel 140 

" Thomas B. 140 
" John W. 140 
Jefters, James 122 
" Josiah 122 
" John 122 
•' Sylvester 122 
Johnston," Michael 42 

" (has. and family, 74 

" Michael 1st and family 

82 
Johnston, Michael 2nd and fam- 
ily, 82 
Johnston, Hale A. 269 
" Hannah 328 



Johnson, 'I'homas 47, 173 
••' Jesse 57 



K 



Kent, Jacob 41 

" Col. Henry 41 
Kimball, Amos and family. 94 

" Jno. and family, 95 

" C. C. 129 

" Ilussell 128 

Peabodv W. 128 

" (has. C. 129 

" Joseph P. 148 

" Ezra S. 148 

'' John 328 

Kingsbury, Ephraim 115 
King, Henry F. 148 



Land, Division of 35 

" Clearing of 60 
Ladd, Ezekiel and fanuly, 65 

'' Ezekiel Jr. 65 

" Samuel 66 

"■ John 66 

" David 6() 

"" James 66 

Samuel Jr. 66 
Law-suit. 1.54 
Leighton. Albert H. 149 
Leith. Wm. H. 329 
Leonard, Henry B. 302 
Little, Moses 68 

Liberal ofter for Blacksmith, 177 
Libraries, 390 
liimestone, 27 

Lovewell's exploring party, 31 
Lovewell, Aim of 34 
Lot, Meadow 30 

" Privileged 40 

" Gov. Wentworth's 40 

" Numbering of 40 

" Laying out of 151 

" Drawing of 151 
Lock, Elisha 58 
Local Names, 409 
Lombard poplars, 83 



M 

Marriage. First 52 
Mails, 194 



INDEX. 



439 



Makiiitj; Cider. ;^!)!) 

Mansoii, Alexander and faiiiilv 

MeClary, .John 130 
Marston, Wni. ('. 1.{.t 
Mann, Ezra B. 147 
" Edward F. 147 
" Melvin .1. 14!) 
" Geo. H. 14!) 
Mattocks, Edward 298 
Masonry, 413 
^Meadows, Names of 40 
Meader, Daniel W. 144 
Memorable contest, l(j3 
Merrill, Nath'I and family, S(! 
David IK) 
" ychuyler 116 
" Benjamin 116 
" Abel K. 116 
" Henry 117 
Arthur 117 
'• .John 117 
" Daniel F. 118 
'' .John L. 329 
" Benjamin 32!) 
Charles H. 329 
William 329 
Mill at North Haverhill, 180 
" at Brook, 178 
" First Saw and Grist 44, 176 
Mill l'rivileo;e first granted, 177 
Mountains, 2.") 
Morse, Caleb 92 
" Lafayette 120 
" Isaac 120 
" Isaac S. 334 
" .Jacob 120 
'• Daniel 120 
" Stephen and family, !)] 
" Dea. Morse 93 
" (ieo. VV. 332 
*' Teabody 331 
" John N'. 92 
'' John 121 
" Joshua 92 
" Robert 336 
" Joseph B. 323 
'• Edmund 93 
" Luther C. 284 
" Bryan and family, !I2 
Muster dav, 360 



N 



Newconib, Charles .308 
Nelson, William JL 143 
" John 2(iO 
" Thomas L. 337 
Niles, Joseph B. 130 

" Alonzo F. 337 

" Horace L. 338 
Nichols, Jonathan S. 134 

" Geo. B. 338 

" Nellie P. 33!) 

" Clara I. 33!) 
North Haverhill, 24 
Noyes, Timothy and family, 110 

" Person 110, 339 

" Benjamin 110 

" Horace E. 110 

" Koyal H. 110 







Ores and Minerals, 
Odd Fellows, 416 
Osgood, John 96 
Old Debt, 158 
Olcott Edward. II. 



269 



Name, Origin of ,20 
Newspapers, .391 



Pattie, John 42 
Page, John and family. .51 
'' Hannah Green .^2 
'' David 27!) 
. " Samuel 5.") 
" Samuel T. 284 
" Samuel B. 284 
'• William H. .55 
'' Moses S. 340 
" John A. 339 
Palmer, Haven 304 
Parker. Enoch G. 147 
Paper Currency, 1.5.5 
Paring bee, 3.5!) 
Patriarchs Militant, 417 
Pearson, Joseph and family, 89 
'• Isaac and family,' 89 
" .Tames H. 341 
I'helps, Martin 289 
Pike Station, 25 
Pike Isaac and family, 125 
" Alonzo F. 126 
" A. F. Mfg Co. 180 
" Isaac Jr., 127 
•' Edwin B. 127 
" Chas. W. 128 
" Burns H. 128 



440 



I-XDEX. 



Pike, f has. J. 128 
'' OsL-ar B. 128 
" Samuel P. 342 
Pigeons, 369 

Pierinont Boundary dispute, 383 
Pine Grove Farm, 415 
Pond, French 27 
•' r>ong, 27 
" Woods 27 
Porter, Asa 82 
" William 84 
" John 258 
Polls, Numl)Pr of 22 
Powers' Explorino; Paity, 32 
Powers, Aim of 34 

Joseph, 144 
Eev. Peter 173, 220 
" (4rant 223 
'• Elizabeth A. 342 
" ' .^larv VV. 342 

Ileniielle M. 342 
" (ieo. C. 342 
Population, 22 

'• Influx of 35 

" !n 17(;7, 57 

Poor, The 374 

'' Care of 158 
Poor Farm, IGO 
Powder House. 308 
Putnam, A. W. 139 
Geo. F. 282 



Question of Conscience, 157 



R 



Keding, Jno. P. 133 
" Silvester 134 
Warren 134 
John 343 
Peligion and ( hurches, 217 

•' in Coloniarrimes, 218 
'■ Protest against, 219 
Record Book, 152 
River, Connecticut 25 
'' Ammonnsuc26 
" Oliverian 20 
Rixes, "Major" 131 
'• Johii L. 131 
" Nathaniel 131 
Roads and Bridges, 28, 185, 194 
" First, only l)ridle-paths, 185 
"■ From Plymouth, 186 



Roads. Portsmouth. 187 

First mention of in" Propri- 
etors' Records, 187 
" First into Town, 187 
'• River, 188 
" Change of, 188 
" Imperfect, 190 
" Character of, 191 
" Grades of, 191 
'^ Rail, 192 
Rodgers, Fevi .343 

" Carleton 343 
Rowell, Jno. 13. 135 

'• Jonathan H. 344 
" Chester 345 
Russell, :Moor and family, 100 
David Moor lOO' 
" Wm. W. andfamilv, 101 

Alfred 101 
" William \\^ 101 
Frank W. 101 
Walter W. 101 
" Cliarles J. 101 



Stark, John. 31 
Sprague, Alden 256 
Sanders, Jonathan 58 
Swasey, Obadiali and family, 98 
" ' Samuel 99 
" Charles J. 99 
Nathaniel 100 
'' John Fl. 100 
Swan, Joshua 97 
" William 97 
'' Charles 98 
" Israel 98 
'• Charles J. 98 
" Phineas 98 
" Henry 98 
Spalding, Phineas 292 
Sabbath, Obsci'vance of 02 
'• 'I'raveling on 157 
Stages, 195 
Stage Drivers, 197 

'' Drinking: habits of 

198 
Settlements, River 109 
Back 109 
Settlers, First White 42 
'• Living of 358 
" Drinking habits of 382 
Scener_y, 20 

'* I-ongfellow's view of 21 
Stevens, Simeon 47 



I 



INDEX. 



441 



Stevens. Parker 105 
Caleb lOr) 
" Grove 8. 148 
" Georf^e W. 143 
" LjMiian D. 315 
Special Choice of Selectmen, 157 
Searle, Moses C. "i^O 
Sleeper, Jonas D. 277 
Steamboats, 3!i8 
Simpson, Thomas 73 
Smith, Eleazer 137 
'' Charles G. 137 
" Chas. B. 147 
" Kev. Ethan 222 
" Rev. John 223 
" Lj'ndon A. 347 
" Stephen S. 317 
" Carlos 347 
" Frank A. 347 
Stlckney, Seth P. 148 
Southards, Moses 129 
Aaron 12i) 
Lyn)anM. 12!) 
" Samuel F. 130 

Stowe. Amos 132 
•• Joseph, 132 
^' William P. 348 
Stoddard, Eugene W. 228 
Soil, 27 

Sloan, David 202 
Stone, Uriah 61 
Scott, Amasa 290 

" Quincy A. 149 
Soap Stone, 27 
Soper, Horace O. 345 
Store at Corner, 182 
" at Brook. 183 
^' at Xo. Haverhill, 183 
'' at Pike Station, 183 
" at East Haverhill, 183 
" at Woodsville, 183 
School Troubles, IGO 
" Houses, 207 
'• Centres, 209 
Schools, Early 20() 

" First Monev lor 20(j 
" First distrirtiuo; of 20(i 
" Pe-districtingot 2()(; 
" Graded, 207 " 
" At Corner, 208 
" at Woodsville, 208 
" Liberality for 208 
" Dai'tmontli College, 209 
" Academy, 211 
Soldiers Monument, 1(!2 

in \\ liv of l^evolution, 
23S 



Soldiers in War of 1812, 241 
" in Mexican War. 241 
" in War of fjel)elli()n, 242 
" in 2nd Peg., 242 
" ill 4tli Peg., 243 
" in 5tli Peg., 244 
" ill 9th Peg., 245 
" in 11th Peg., 24(i 
in 15th Peg., 248 
" in 18th Peg., 249 
" in First Heavy Artil- 
lery, 250 

" In First Cavalry, 251 

Sugar Making, 359 



Taplin, Jolin (i5 
Tarleton, \Villi,im 105 
Josiah B. 348 
" George W. 349 
" James M. 349 
" Horace 349 
" Thos. G. 34!) 

" Albert 349 

" Amos 349 

Taverns, 198 

" of olden times, 202 
" Famous 203 
" News Center of 203 
" First Families Kept 204 
Taxes first abated, 153 
Treasurer, First 1.53 
Teams, 201 

Tennej% Homer H. 302 
'i'eaming, 400 
'l'iiiie,-Changes, 354 
'i'ything-man, 374 
Towle, Simeon and familv. 114 
>' Henry 114 
" Edward 114 
" Susan E. 114 
" Emily H. 115 
" Frederick 350 
" James II. 3.50 
Town and Proprietors Meeting, 

First 150 
Town Officers, First 1.50 

First full list of 
151 
'J'own ()tiic«»:'s, Ciiaracter of 103 
'J'own Meeting, First ,\iinual 151 

" Places of 155 

Town. Area of 22 
•' Expenses, 152 
'' Work, Wages for 152 



442 



INDEX. 



Town on State of Countrj', 15!) 

" House, 160 

" Duty of 162 

" General progress of 177 
Troublesome Persons, 156 
Two Classes, ;^54 
Two Great Plagues, 393 
Thompson, Charles E. 275) 
Trotter, William !)1 
Tucker, K. I). 146 



Vermont Tnion, 387 
Villages, 23 



w 

Water-power, 28 

" Storage, 28 

' ' On Oliverian 17!) 
Warren, Luther 135 
" George 135 
Waif, 155 
War of 1812, 15!) 

" Kebellion, 161 
Watson, Henry P. 306 
Wesson. Ephraiin 73 
Wells, Caleb 145 
Wheeler, Glazier 104 
Weeks. Enoch R. 143 

<■' Moses M. 143 

" C. M. 147 
Webster, David 110 

" Stephen P. Ill 



Webster, Mrs. Ill 

" James P. Ill 
" John V. 112 
" Caleb 112 
" Samnel C. 274 
VV^estgate, Nathaniel W. 281 

" William F. 286 

Wetherbee, Myron S. 30!) 
White, John 68 

" Samuel 287 
Wilson, Nathaniel 114 
" Geo. L. 114 
" Nathaniel 350 
" Edward B. 352 
Wilmot, Timothy and faniilj', 122 

" Harvey B. 352 
Whitney, Augustus, 142 
Whitcher, Ira, 147 

David, 147 
" Daniel. 147 

William F. 352 
Wild Animals etc. 367 
Wood, Kev. Henry, 224 
Woods, John L. 146 
" John L., Jr. 352 
" Frank P. 353 
Woodsville, 24, 180 
W^oodward, James and familj^, 59 
" Chas. B. M. 123 

" George 25!) 



Young, Joshua and family, 94 
" John 94 
" Tryphena 94 



MEM01IAN13A. 

These sheets are added for the convenience of those who 
may be interested in notintj important events of the Town as 
they occur. 






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